Through Falling Eyes
by Demyn
Summary: Rowen's wife pays Sage an unexpected visit. Sage hasn't seen her for years, and with Rowen out for the weekend, Sage gives her the love that he's always wanted to give. But one mistake is worth 9 months of agony... and a friendship that is never mended.
1. Unexpected visit

Disclaimer: I don't not OWN nor did I create these wonderful little characters that I *heart* so much! *praises the creators*

~*~

Knock, knock   
RIIIINNNNNGGGG  
She turned the doorknob and creaked the door open just a crack, surprised that it was open, "Hello?" she yelled, "is anyone home?"  
Nothing.  
She took one half step into the house. "Rowen? Are you here?"  
"Who's there?" A tall blonde man with violet eyes suddenly appeared out of one of the doorways. He scowled. "What do you think you are doing? You are very rude!"  
_Omigod, that is NOT Sage. I cannot believe this. _"Oh, I'm sorry-"  
"If someone doesn't answer the door, then you are supposed to leave, not just help yourself into their house," he continued to stare at the woman in the doorway, dressed in loose blue jeans and a black overcoat. The lack of the sunlight sent a shadow over her face, preventing Sage from seeing her true facial features.  
The woman took another step into the house. "Don't you know who I am?"  
"Soon to be a woman in jail if you don't get out now."  
The woman fully stepped into the house, the lighting luminating her face. She smiled as she reached her hands up behind her head and untied her loose bun. Long black hair flowed down her back and she matched her hazel-green eyes with Sage.  
His mouth dropped, "No... I'm seeing things." He blinked a few times and pinched his arm, but the woman still didn't go away. "Kia?" he asked, his tone barely audible. She closed her eyes and smiled. "No... I'm dreaming. You can't be here, you just can't be!"   
Kia swallowed the lump in her throat and started to walk towards Sage. He didn't move, swearing that his feet were nailed to the floor. Kia stopped once she had reached arms distance away from the stunned blonde. She slowly brought her hand up to his slightly pale face and looked deep into his violet eyes, "I'm here, Sage..."  
He just closed his eyes and bit his lip to keep from weeping. Kia compassionately took him into her arms and hugged him tightly.  
After Sage had settled down, an extremely silent moment passed over them. Sage took a deep breath and quickly pulled away from Kia. "First of all, what the hell do you think you are doing?! This is the second time that you've disappeared! Second! Ro - your husband just about killed himself this time! And he would've if I hadn't been here for him! His daughter..." Sage stopped as he realized what he said, realizing that Ayame was Kia's daughter.  
Kia looked to the ground. "Sage... I'm really sorry. But you can't even begin to guess what I've been through to get back here." Sage's anger disappeared as he watched a tear fall from Kia's face. Then she looked up to him and made direct eye contact. "I can't stand this anymore! Damnit, Sage, just tell me that I'm not wasting my time-"  
"Kia," Sage brought his hands up to her face and cradled her eyes with sympathy, "Kia, I love you, you know that. But you can't do this anymore... okay?" Sage chuckled even though tears hung lightly in his pale violet eyes.   
"Oh, Sage. I'm so sorry!" Kia flew herself back into Sage's arms and cried unstoppingly into his chest. Sage soon cried along with her, and they both fell to their knees on the ground.  
A few too-happy-not-to-cry moments passed, then Sage decided to speak, "This is so damaging to my manly figure..." he wiped the tears away from his eyes. Kia forced a small smile and chuckles as she wiped the tears from her own eyes. "But you didn't come at a good time," Sage started and took in a deep breath as he settled his cheery eyes on Kia. "Ro works at a photography studio and they sent him down to the ocean for a week. Natsuki took Ayame to the beach for a break-"  
Kia cut him off. "How is my daughter?"  
Sage blinked and smiled, "Ayame looks just like you. But she is quite the troublemaker."  
Kia smiled and bit her bottom lip. "What about Rowen?"  
He sighed, running a hand through his blonde locks, "Rowen? Rowen is doing a lot better. But he and his daughter are so close that sometimes it's scary. He is also way overprotective over her, if you ask me. But Rowen is supposed to be back on Monday," Sage sighed, realizing that it was Saturday. "His new job is really demanding from him. Natsuki and Ayame are coming back either late tomorrow night or early Monday morning. So, I don't know what you are going to do until then."  
"I'm going to stay right here."  
"No kidding?"  
"And, no, I didn't come at a bad time."  
Sage laughed and stood up, "Anyways, who else knows that you are 'back from the dead... again'?"  
Kia also stood up, not amused by Sage's wisecrack. "Just you. I don't have the heart to tell Ryo, Cye, or Raya yet."  
"Oh... okay." Sage looked at his watch. "Well, do you want to go out and grab something to eat? It's past seven-thirty and Cye doesn't live here anymore."   
Kia smiled and shook her head, "No. I've done enough traveling for today. I just want to stay here." She swallowed the spit in her mouth, reliving the strawberry margarita she had before she came over here.  
But before Kia had the chance to blink, Sage walked up to her, took her in his arms, and kissed her. She broke away after a few seconds. "Whoa, Sage. A little bolder than when I last knew you?" Her only response was a smile. "Precisely why I said that I didn't come at a bad time."  
Sage smiled devilishly and kissed her again. It was almost as if a love curse was placed on them and neither one could hold back anything from each other.  
"Sage..." Kia broke their kiss.  
"Hmm... what?"  
"I've... never mind."  
"No, what is it?"  
Kia sighed, "I've... I've been doing a lot of thinking since we've last met. You don't know how much I've thought about my screwed up life, my loving husband, my daughter that I've never seen..." she hesitated, "and you. I've missed you every day since we've last departed, Sage." She looked directly into his eyes.  
He smiled with his eyes and bit his bottom lip. "Me too..."  
"Sage... I love you and you know that. But I've come to realize that I want..." She pulled him closer and buried her face into his chest, closing her eyes. She smiled softly as she breathed in the light scent of his cologne. "Sage, I want you. I want to be with you. I've always had a small flame for you, but since I've been away from you, the small flame has turned into a huge inferno that's consumed my entire body... that is the best that I can describe it. But I can't hold it back any longer." She let out a short nervous sigh, almost as if she needed to get it off her chest.   
Sage put his lips on her head, "Kia..."  
She winced, "I'm sorry, Sage. I didn't mean to blurt it all out like that." She pulled away from him and blushed.  
"No," Sage put his hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. "Don't be sorry," he smiled and continued to stare into Kia's eyes, "I will admit to having the same towards you. I've never stopped thinking about you."  
"Really?" Kia replied, weakly.  
He nodded and pulled on her shoulders, bringing her back into him and kissed her. He ran his hands down her shoulders and gently slipped off her overcoat, revealing a lavender tank top and a pair of creamy peach shoulders. He feathered his fingertips over her back, finding nothing except skin and shirt. She wasn't even wearing a bra. Sage was hard just thinking about it.  
"Kia," he pressed his forehead against hers, "are you all right with this?"   
"Sage! Are you asking me for my permission? Is that what I think you are doing?"  
He laughed, "I'm a changed man, Kia." He paused for a moment to meet eyes with Kia again. "But I'm really serious about this. I don't want to force you into something you don't want to do." Kia giggled and playfully licked the top of his nose. "I also don't want to regret not loving you either," he replied with a smile.  
"I'm perfectly okay with this if you are."  
"Okay. Stay here for a second." Sage gave her a wink and headed over to the stairs. She only watched him with a smile.  
After a few moments of deafening silence, Sage finally called Kia's name and told her to come upstairs. She followed his voice, leading herself upstairs and into Mia's way old bedroom. She unsurprisingly found the lights off, but through the softly moonlit bedroom, she couldn't find Sage anywhere.  
"Sage? Where are you - ah... what are you doing?"  
Sage finished tying the bandana that covered her hazel eyes, "Shh... " He traced his fingertips down her bare arms and took a hold of her waist, then started to guide her over to the edge of the bed. "Kia, you mean so much to me as it is and I want this to go perfect - to feel perfect," he started, whispering into her ear as he began to unbutton her jeans.   
Her ears then picked up the light piano music that was playing in the background. She also could have sworn that she smelled incense burning. But she already knew that Sage was in his boxers, as she could fell his slightly cold skin and the indents of his muscles against her bare arms.  
Kia smiled. "Just promise me one thing."  
He let her pants fall to the ground. "What's that?"  
"Don't get me pregnant. I don't know how I would explain to Rowen that I'm carrying your child."  
Sage chuckled and then slowly started to kiss her neck from behind her, starting at the nape of her ear and tracing downward to her shoulder. He twisted his index fingers around the straps of her underwear and leaned forward, collapsing on top of her back on the bed, Kia only responding with laugher.   
She soon twisted her body around beneath Sage's weight until she faced him. "How long do I have to keep this bandana on?"  
Sage kissed her gently, "It's more fun if you can only feel what you are doing... or rather, what I'm doing - AH! Hey, no biting!" Kia laughed and pulled away from his neck. Sage lightly ran his lips over Kia's mouth as he sighed the word, "Ready?"  
Kia nodded, then let out an unexpected sigh as Sage pulled off her tank top with one quick movement of his arm. After, he threw it on the ground and started to gently kiss her on the lips - and not just any old small kisses. They eventually turned into full French kisses, each one growing with hunger and intensity as both their body temperatures started to rise. In no time at all, they were both stimulated.  
Sage started to work his mouth downward, kissing her on the chin, then to her slender neck, and tracing his tongue along the dips of her collarbone. His hands eventually worked off her bikini style underwear with an utmost gentle touch.  
Kia only responded with long sighs of her feminine voice as he worked his hands up and down her body, sending thrills of fire through her where only one had ventured before. She managed to slip his boxers down to his knees, Sage doing the honor to take them off completely. Using only her sense of touch, Kia soon found the soft spot between his thighs and started to gently rub and massage his muscles, sending him into long moans of pleasure. When he couldn't take it any longer, he grabbed onto Kia's shoulders and pulled her over him as he rolled to the side.   
She let her mouth hang open as she tried to find Sage's lips with her, slipping out her tongue as she found them. Sage kissed back, equal, if not more, in the same stimulating desire while grazing his hands over her back. Finding her spine, he took his index finger and pressed into it, increasing pressure as he moved downward.  
Kia moaned deeply in Sage's mouth as he took her bottom lips in-between his teeth and roamed his hands across her round and full breasts. She didn't hesitate or stop him from forcing his weight on top of her again, kneeling over as she spread her thighs. He gently pushed his hardness inside her, taking it slowly, so slowly as if he was almost afraid. In a short amount of time, Sage got all the way inside her.   
Kia let out a slight cry as the initial sharp, quick pain came alone with her pleasure. She had never felt this kind of lust, and all she wanted was to rip off the bandana and stare into Sage's eye, telling him to stay with her forever.  
Then Sage started to go in and out, slow, rhythmic movements as his breath grew heavier and heavier, Kia feeling his heart run like mad against her bare breasts as he pressed against them. Kia squirmed, thoroughly enjoying it. She slowly ran her hands up and down Sage's smooth back as he breathed hot in her ear while uttering undistinguishable words of bliss. Only soon after the few intense moments did Sage stop.   
He kissed her, open mouthed, breathing heavily into her throat. He traveled his moist lips up to her nose and then to the bandana, pulling it off with his teeth.  
Kia blinked, adjusting her eyes to the scene and staring dreamily into her lover's eyes as soon as she found them, breathing harshly. Neither one spoke as they stared into one another, reading minds with only their eyesight.   
"...Sage..." Kia closed her eyes again as he pressed his wet lips against hers.  
He broke away a moment later. "Don't say anything." He began to lick down Kia's neck, around her shoulders, and down to her breasts. But he didn't stop there. Tracing words of love down to her bare stomach, he planted soft kisses on her lower torso. Kia could only wonder how far he was going to go. She started to fell him moving lower with his tongue, with his breath against her condensed skin. It was too good of a feeling to stop him, although deep down, she felt that she was doing something she wasn't supposed to do, being somewhere she wasn't supposed to be.   
But then, the room disappeared. Flames of sensations ignited her body. She tried to move away to lessen the sensation, but Sage wouldn't let her.   
In that state, Kia lost her sense of personal identity, merging into only more experience. She had no thoughts of her husband, her daughter, or guilt in the back of her mind. NO mind could exist in the level of ecstasy that she was in. Only love and awareness.   
Sage kept going, despite the fact that Kia was crying out and grabbing the sheets, the pillows, his hair - anything to keep from screaming. Mouth wide open with her fingernails clawing into his shoulders, Kia managed to ease somewhat.   
As Sage finally pulled away from her, every muscle in her body felt limp and weak, trying to regain energy as she took in deep breaths of air. She inhaled through her teeth as Sage ran his lips across her stomach, barely touching her, but his breath dense on her skin. She sighed his name as he kissed the soft skin in between her breasts. Kia moaned and raised her chest upward, arching her back as Sage slipped his hand under her and applied pressure to the small indent at the base of her spine. She could feel him smile as he continued to kiss her.   
Without even realizing it, Sage rose his head away from her bare chest and moved back over her face, mouth wide open as he only used his tongue to play with her mouth. After a few moments, she lifted her head off the pillow and kissed Sage full on the lips, then gently bit his tongue, causing him to let a low moan echo in his throat.   
Kia then crossed her legs over behind his lower half and pressed her hot bare chest into his, almost like asking for more without words. He started again, pressing his waist hard into hers. Kia moaned her way through it, biting his shoulder and arching her back in attempts to reduce the overwhelming sensation that Sage was giving her.   
Sage cried out, his body on fire, burning for completeness. That cry was to Kia as he finally collapsed on her warm body, exhaling and inhaling to regain his energy that was well spent. He rolled over to Kia's side and took her in his arms. Both too exhausted to move, they fell asleep in each other's arms, their breathing slowing to normal and eventually blending back into the soft romantic piano music that was in the background. 


	2. Lust

The next morning, Kia awoke to the early sun pouring it's light onto her face. She blinked a few times, clearing her eyesight and then focusing her eyes on Sage, who was fast asleep in her arms.

She sighed with a bright smile and buried her face deeper into Sage's broad chest. Batting her eyelashes against his skin, she fluttered her eyes up and around the room. Sage shifted slightly underneath Kia and awoke with a small groan. 

"Mnm... hey, you," he propped himself up on his elbows. 

Kia feathered her fingertips over his chest, "Good morning."

Sage smiled, "Definitely a good morning." 

Kia chuckled and pulled herself over him, then licked his lips. Then she propped her chin on his collarbone, "I could re-live that night for the rest of my life."

He laughed, "Really?"

Kia nodded, yawning at the same time.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sage tilted his head so he could look at her. When she nodded again, Sage pulled his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, "Well, okay. Cause I'll tell you one thing, I'm exhausted."

Kia smiled, laying her head back down on his chest. "So... what do we do now?"

Sage exhaled, "You're asking me."

Kia sighed again and Sage plopped his head back down on the pillow. Kia softly kissed his chest and closed her eyes as she laid her head back down on him. She blinked her eyes open, tiredly, and slowly moved her gaze over to the nightstand that was next to the bed. Her eyes ballooned as she saw the picture that was on the table. 

Sage was dressed in a full white tuxedo, pink flower in his left pocket with a matching pink scarf tucked in his blazer. His black Gucci shoes shined and equally matched the shine in his smile. 

Natsuki stood next to him, clutching a pink rose bouquet in her left hand. Her right hand was braced across Sage's shoulder and her body was turned just right so that you could see the full potential in her low cut white wedding dress. 

Sage turned his head to see what Kia was looking at. When he caught on, he sighed, "Ki..."

She turned away, "When did you two get married?"

Sage hesitated for a moment, "About a year ago..."

"Sage, we have to promise to each other. We have to promise that we will not tell Rowen or Natsuki what happened last night... okay?"

"No, I think I'm going to call Ro right now," he picked up the phone that was next sitting on the nightstand and dialed a number, "Hey, Rowen! Guess what? I have great news. I just slept with your wife, Kia! Isn't that great?"

Kia laughed and pulled the phone away from him, "But seriously-"

"I'm just kidding! Sheesh, I'm not _that_ blonde."

Kia started laughing again. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry I doubted you." She started to get off of Sage, but he pulled her back on top of him. She started giggling as Sage planted small kisses on her neck, "Sage, stop! I'm need to take a shower."

Sage laughed, "Fine! Leave me then."

"You could join me..."

Sage's eyes widened.

"But I think I will just leave you," Kia smiled as she pulled the white comforter off the bed, wrapping it around her naked body and waltzed out of the room into the bathroom that was across the hall. 

Sage just sighed and rolled over, curling up with the other bed sheet and closing his eyes, falling into a light sleep. 

Kia stepped out of the shower 15 minutes later and grabbed one of the robes that was hanging up and loosely tied it around her waist. She walked back into the room, finding Sage still sleeping, or more rather snoring quietly. 

She jumped on the bed and straddled the surprised Sage.

"Ah! Wha-Kia?!" he exhaled. "Are you trying to give a hearty-tack?"

"Hearty-tack?"

"Leaf me alone." Sage groaned and pressed his face into a pillow. 

Kia giggled, "Are you sure? Cause I'll go if you really want me to..."

"No, wait! I was just joking," he moved the pillow away and looked up to Kia. "Hey, my robe actually looks good on you."

"This is yours? Kind of short," Kia ran her hand along the hem of the robe that dangled just above her knees.

"Well, actually it's Nasuki's."

Kia looked downward, "Oh..." She started to get off of Sage.

"Wait, Kia." He grabbed onto her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Look, I know that you have a lot of guilt," he pulled on her shoulders and took her face in-between his palms. "So do I. But think of it this way. All of the greatest pleasures in life, are those that people sat that you cannot do," he replied, very cheerfully.

Kia smiled softly and kissed him soundly, "Now that you put it that way..."

"And," Sage untied the robe and slipped it off her shoulders, "The robe looks much better off you." He gazed up and down her fair skinned body. 

Kia gave him a 'you're crazy' look and crossed her arms around her chest. Sage smiled evilly as he then tackled her, Kia letting out a yelp as he pressed his body against the coldness of hers. Sage kissed and nipped at her neck while her head hung off the bed, Kia only responding with giggles. He moved up to her mouth, smiling widely as his lips encountered hers and bringing his entire body to fall upon hers. They eventually landed with a loud 'THUD' as Sage landed on top of Kia on the ground. The thin white sheet floated on top of them and created a soft white atmosphere. 

"Sage, you are so unbelievably irresistible."

Sage smiled, "So are you."

"That's why we don't belong together."

He didn't say anything as he continued to gaze deeply into Kia's hazel green eyes. He raised his eyebrows as he then spoke, "Do you want something to eat? Like, breakfast wise?"

Kia thought about a nasty comment, but she held it back as she smiled, "Food is always good."

"Great! We have some really good breakfast food," Sage replied as he pulled himself off of her and grabbing Natsuki's robe. "See you downstairs!" He ran off, leaving Kia on the floor with nothing except the blanket. 

Sighing with a playful smile, she stood up and found her underwear, pants, and tank top with minor difficulties. Being the nice person that she was, she decided to make the bed. But something red on the mattress caught her eye... it was blood.

Kia cursed as she ripped off the sheets, then almost storming downstairs with the blankets in her hands. "Sage!" she called out, exiting from the laundry room and heading into the kitchen. "Sage! Did you wear a... you know..."

"What?"

"A thing! Protection!"

"Oh, ughh..." Sage bit his lower lip and slowly shook his head. 

"Sage, please don't say that! Shit!" Kia pounded on the table. "Why didn't you wear one? What were you thinking?"

He sighed, "I don't know. I'm sorry, Kia."

"Well, we better go and buy a pregnancy test."

"We can't."

"What? Why can't we?"

Sage paused, " None of the pharmacy's are open on Sundays."

"... And Natsuki is coming back tonight?"

"As far as I know."

"Sage, _what_ are we going to do?"

He tried not to make eye contact with her, "I... I don't know."

Then the phone rang... and rang... and rang.

Sage sighed, "I'll bet you ten big ones that Natsuki is on the other line." He reached for the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Sage! Boy, it's good to hear your voice again! I missed you so much!"

"Hey, Suki."

"Well, I have some good news and some bad news."

"Tell me the good first." 

"Okay. Firstly, Ro is coming back with us. Secondly, the hotel bill isn't going to be as high as we thought it would. And lastly, we'll be back by... maybe midnight tonight if we're lucky."

"So what's the bad news?"

"You promise you won't be mad?"

Sage sighed, "I promise."

"The hotel bill isn't as high because-"

"Don't tell me that you gave it to the manager for a lower price."

Natsuki cracked up, "I would _never_ cheat on you, Sage-dear!" 

"Please don't say that..." Sage mumbled under his breath.

"Ha-what did you say?"

"Oh, nothing. So why aren't the hotel bills as high?"

"Right. Well, my original hotel reservations were canceled, but so were Rowen's. We had to share another room."

"Is that all?"

"Well... yeah. I didn't want you to get mad or anything, so I'm telling you what happened."

Sage smiled, "That's perfectly okay. I'm not-"

"What was that?"

Sage looked over to where Kia was standing on her tiptoes, surrounded by pans. "Eeee... oh, nothing. I was trying to find something, but I dropped it." He quickly made up a lame excuse. 

"Oh, right. Anyways, I just called to make sure that everything was alright with you home alone."

"Yeah, I'm great and fine and okay and whatever else word describe good." 

Natsuki laughed, "Okay. Then Ro and I will see you later tonight."

"Alright, I'll see you later."

"Bye, Sage!" Natsuki kissed the receiver and hung up the phone. 

Shaking his head, Sage hung up the phone and turned back to Kia.

"I'm really sorry. I thought that the plates were kept in this cupboard."

"Well, things change when you're gone for two years, Kia," Sage replied with a happy sigh.

Kia squeezed her eyes shut and smiled, showing all of her pearly whites and clasping her hands underneath her chin, "Sorry!"

Sage laughed, "Like mother, like daughter. Ayame did the exact same thing last week. Speaking of your daughter, you'll get to see her later tonight if you stay. Natsuki called and she said that they are coming back tonight for sure."

"Really?"

"Don't get too excited. How are we going to tell them that you are still alive?"

"Oh… I forgot about that part."

"Well," Sage looked at the clock; "We have time to think about it. It's only 2:30."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Can I ask you a question?" Sage asked. Kia nodded, "Are you really truly out of the protection program or did you just escape again?"

Kia smiled, "Really truly. You have to stay there for a minimum of three years. Mine was longer, but I made it up and I was free to go."

"Great! Then that gives us a plan. I can type some professional letter on the computer saying the final release of you and I can just give it to Rowen and Natsuki. Then you can just come over tomorrow."

"And you thought of that all by yourself?"

Sage looked around, "Does it look like I asked anyone else?"

Kia chuckled, "I'm just surprised, that's all. Do you think it'll work?"

"Let's hope so." Sage turned around, "I'm gonna type that letter. There is cereal and some breakfast bars in the pantry. Help yourself."

"I thought you said that you had _good_ breakfast food!"

"Isn't it?"

Kia made a face, "Not really. But, oh well." She heaved a sigh and opened the pantry door. After some three minutes of searching, she found a raspberry breakfast bar and some of her favorite tea. 

As she took the last sip of her tea, Sage walked back into the room, proudly holding up a white sheet of paper. "I finished it!" he cried. "It's really sappy, but who cares."

Kia laughed, "Here, let me read it."

Sage handed the paper over, smiling. 

After a minute or so, Kia looked up to Sage, "You're right, it is sappy."

"Well, _thanks_."

Kia laughed, "I'm just kidding! It'll do. I just hope that Rowen and Natsuki will think that it really is from the WPP." She put the letter back on the table and sighed, leaning back into the chair that she was sitting in, "I can't wait to see my daughter. What does she look like, Sage?"

"Like you. She has black hair like yours," he paused to run his hand through Kia's hair and grabbed a strand. "Very thin and light. But she has eyes like Rowen's, dark blue. She just looks like your and Rowen's daughter."

Kia smiled, "And she's two years old, right?"

"More like two and half. She turned two 8 months ago… I think."

Kia sighed and brought out a smile. 

"Well, since we only have so much time until Rowen and Natsuki get back…" he stopped there and drew his face closer to hers.

"What are you suggesting, Sagie-poo?" 

"Not that name again,"

Kia giggled, "You still don't like that, do you?" 

"Whatever-"

"And you didn't get a breakfast bar, did you? You need breakfast if you want energy."

"I don't need breakfast. I'm going to skip it this morning."

"Afternoon," Kia corrected him.

"Right. Like I said," Sage slipped him arms around Kia and brought her up to him, "I'm going to skip it today."

Kia laughed and gently pushed Sage's hands away from her. "But, we're both-"

"Forget about it for today. Forget about everything. Only know that I want you and you want me." He stopped to look Kia dead in the eyes, "Maybe there are some things better then this, definitely worse. But know that there is _nothing_ like this… like us."

Kia let her eyes go puppy-wide. "Sage…"

She didn't have to say anything more as Sage leaned in, placing his lips on hers. His kiss that time was like no other, like lighting. A flash that spread and stayed. 


	3. Rowen's return

One or two hours later, Kia didn't keep track, they both fell back onto the bed, gasping in huge lungfuls of air to regain energy. 

Sage rolled back on top of her, kissing her, but broke away only after a few seconds to breathe. Kia sighed and arched her head backward to look out the huge floor-to-ceiling length window. She then found out why it was so dark in the room; it was raining.

Sage looked at what Kia was staring at. He smiled, "Maybe we were meant to be here, together. It's raining."

"What does rain prove?"

"That the gods are-"

"The gods? They are probably angry or upset if it's raining."

Sage chuckled, "Never mind then."

Kia shifted her body to the side to look at Sage, "Hey, Sage…"

He looked down to her eyes, "Hmm?"

"Have you ever made love in the rain?"

Sage looked shocked, "Uh… not that I can remember."

"C'mon, let's go outside." She slipped herself off the bed and grabbed the white plushy comforter off of Sage. When he got off the bed, she wrapped it around him and pressed her body into his then kissed him soundly. Smiling, she led Sage out of the room and down the hall, into her old room that had a porch connected off of it. 

She slid open the glass sliding door, but Sage hesitated, "Why are we doing this again?"

She smiled, "To make something new out of all of this." Kia pulled Sage outside, the white blanket still covering their naked bodies.

The rain was light on their bare shoulders, causing little streams of heat to rise from their bodies from the intense amount of heat that they were in the moment before.

"Ah… it feels good out here…" Sage tilted his head backwards and opened his mouth, catching drizzles of water on his tongue. But he shot his eyes back down to Kia as she ripped the comforter off of him and threw it on the ground. He screamed, girl-like, "Kia! What are you doing?! People could see us!" he tried to cover his manhood.

Kia laughed, "Out here? Who can see us out here in the middle of nowhere?" Kia let her gaze slip from Sage's violet eyes to the forest scenery before them. "Nobody in the world can see us."

"Well, I'm, for one, not really comfortable with this," he blinked, wiping the streams of rain off his face. 

"I think it feels like no one can see us, Sage. I just want to…" she stopped and took one step into Sage. "As for you," she paused again, looking upward to meet his eyes, "I'm the only one who can see."

Sage blinked once, slowly, gazing his eyes into the green of Kia's, her eyes seeming to glow in the hazy atmosphere that surrounded them. Kia pulled slightly on Sage's waist, bringing him to rest on top of her on the comforter.

As it started to downpour, the rain beating heavily on their bodies, neither one noticing it as they moved with each other. Both their eyes were closed, using only their sense of feeling to find each other. The rain drowned out the moans and sighs that they made as it beat against the roof. After what felt like hours, Sage and Kia slowed to a relaxing halt, lying side by side, staring into one another's eyes as the rain poured on their bare skin.

"Dark hair, full breasts, beautiful skin…" Sage brushed the hair out of Kia's eyes and leaned forward to kiss her again. 

Kia smiled, "Sage," she inched her body forward, getting closer to him. 

"Hmm?"

"What do you think of this?" 

"Of what? Us?"

Kia slowly nodded.

"How about I tell you when we go inside," Sage stood up, helping Kia do the same and wrapping the heavy-with-water comforter around both their shoulders and walking back into the house.

Kia walked over to the extra bed and snuggled into the covers. Sage dropped the blanket on the ground and climbed into the bed beside Kia. He took her into his arms and pulled her into him. 

"That was an experience I will never forget," Sage whispered into her ear.

Kia smiled, "But I want to know what you think about this. I mean, like what happens if I get pregnant?"

"Nothing is going to happen to you. And if you do get pregnant… well, let's just see what happens, okay?" Sage tightened his hold on her and pressed his nose into her shoulder. 

"Well, I think I better get my stuff ready. I don't want to be here just yet when Rowen and Natsuki return." She moved to stand up, but Sage reached for her.

"No, stay here with me, Kia. I need you here, in my arms… please don't go yet."

Kia winced and lay back down next to him. Sage wrapped the blanket tighter around them, keeping them close and warm and closed his eyes. At that point, Kia didn't know what to do, but nothing… nothing would ever matter but this. 

Sage blinked his eyes open, awaking with a yawn later that evening. Realizing that Kia was fast asleep beside him, he bent his head down and kissed her closed eyes.

She slowly fluttered her eyes open, focusing them on Sage, "Mmm… hey, Sage." Kia mumbled, then nestling her body deeper into the bed, closing her eyes.

Sage smiled and looked around, finally noticing the clock that read 12:47. "Kia!"

"Hmm… what?"

"It's a quarter to one!"

"What?!" She shot herself up from the bed and looked at the clock, "What time are Natsuki and Rowen supposed to be back?"

"Anytime now!"

She cursed, "I have to go." She stood up, grabbing the top blanket and covering herself with it. She speed walked into the previous bedroom, grabbing her clothes and throwing them on. She emerged out of the room a few moments later, finding Sage dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. 

"Kia, promise me that you'll come back?"

She nodded, "Of course I promise, Sage," she stared into his eyes, seeming almost afraid of taking her eyes off him. She couldn't bare the thought of losing him now. 

"Well, you better get going-" Sage was cut off by the front door opening and slamming shut. 

"SAGE! We're home!"

He grimaced and turned to Kia, giving her a sweet, but short, kiss on the lips, then whispering 'porch' in her ear as he passed her. 

Kia watched as he fled down the stairs and disappeared into the family room. She took a deep sigh, shoving her hands into her pockets. Surprised to feel something in them, she pulled out a piece of paper. This particular piece of paper was the _real_ paper that granted her release. She lighted her eyes on it briefly and smiled. Then she turned on her heel and walked back over to the extra bedroom and out to the porch. Grateful that it wasn't too high off the ground, she jumped off of it and ran across the yard and into the woods, finding her car.

"Natsuki, how was your vacation?" Sage hugged his wife and pulled her back, giving her a short kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, it was great. Next time you have to come along."

"Definitely." Sage turned to see his best friend walk into the door with his daughter in his hands. "Hey Ro. Did you have a good time?"

Rowen nodded, "But Ayame was a pain." He gestured down to Ayame, who was sleeping soundly in his arms. "I'm gonna take her upstairs to bed."

"Wait! Can I take her upstairs, Ro?"

Rowen looked confused, "Uh… sure." He lightly handed his daughter to Sage's arms. "Just don't wake her. She barely got any sleep last night and I don't want to have her crying the whole night tonight." He exhaled heavily.

"Gotcha." Sage took Ayame and walked to the stairs. As soon as Sage was out of sight, Natsuki turned to Rowen.

"Should we tell him what really happened at the hotel?"

Rowen stared into Natsuki's blue eyes, "Sometime, but not now. He isn't mad at us and I don't want him to be."

"But… but I just can't help feeling this guilt inside me. I feel really bad."

"Me too, Natsuki," Rowen whispered "Me too."

"Kia? Kia, are you sill here?" Sage rasped, peeking into the bedroom that they were in right beforehand. "Kia?" Sage switched on the light but found no one. The porch door wasn't closed all the way and a cold wind let itself into the vacant room. Sighing slightly, Sage turned around, but before he headed out the door, a white piece of paper lying on the nightstand caught his attention. A somewhat confused look on his face, he walked over the table and grabbed the note, reading it in his mind.

_'Sage, you don't know how much fun I had with you. Too bad it had to stop short. I will never forget today or yesterday and I hope you won't either. We'll still see each other, but we can't- or should I say shouldn't - have the same nights together as we used to have. When I come back tomorrow morning, I will have a pregnancy test confirmed and we can live our lives from there. Please keep our secret, our vow, and never break it. I don't even want to think of the reaction that Rowen will give if he ever found out. See you soon, Your lover and always friend, Kia. P.S. DESTROY this letter once you have read it!'_

Sage chuckled and walked over to the slightly opened porch door. Sliding it open so that he could go outside, he took the note in his hands and ripped it up into tiny pieces, letting the wind take them into it's intangible arms.

Closing the door behind him, Sage ran back downstairs. "Rowen! Suki! I have the greatest news!" he rushed back into the family room.

"What, Ayame is actually asleep?" Rowen pulled a lame joke. 

Sage laughed, "WAY much better than that!"

"We have to guess?"

Sage reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded envelope. Rowen stared at the envelopes return address for only a second before clawing for the letter. 

Sage whipped it out of his reach, "Nah-ah-ah, Ro-wen."

"What is it?" Natsuki sat her confused eyes on Sage.

"It's a letter from the Witness Protection Program! Sage, hand it over, now!"

Sage gasped, "Gosh! A little touchy, aren't we?"

"It's probably just money or something, "Natsuki sighed, resting her head on top of her palm. 

"Dammit, Sage! Just give it to me!"

Sage narrowed his eyes, "Well, if you're going to swear at me, then here," he shoved it in Rowen's face, "have it."

Rowen fidgeted with the envelope, his mind wanting to go much faster than his hands would allow him, "Hey… it's been opened! Sage!"

"Like I can resist reading a letter from the institute that took Kia away?!"

Rowen grimaced, then his mind set back to the letter. He opened the envelope and started to let his eyes fall over the page. 

"Read it out loud. I want to hear it, too." Natsuki spoke up, softer than usual. 

Rowen sighed, "Okay. Here goes nothing. Dear Mr. Hashiba, We are very aware that you have suffered dearly from your wife's decease. But this will be happy news for you. Kia has fully served her time here, 4 years to be precise and we want to inform you that Kia is still alive…" Rowen stopped there He looked up to Sage, narrow eyes, "Is this some sort of joke, Sage?"

Sage blinked, "What?"

"Is this a fucking joke?!" He slammed the paper down on the table.

"Rowen! _That _is _no_ joke!" Sage pointed at the letter in a phase close to anger. "Is this your reaction to it? Don't you want your wife to be alive?"

Rowen was flabbergasted, "I can't… I won't… this isn't happening to me…"

Natsuki just stared at the ground, not believing her own ears. 

Sage smiled half-heartily, "Precisely."

Rowen stared at Sage, still not believing anything, "But… but… why didn't you tell me before when you first got this letter!?"

"Big surprise, isn't it, Ro." Sage exhaled, leaning back into his chair and crossing his arms across his chest. 

"Kia is still alive?" Natsuki finally came out of her awed state, looking at her husband.

Sage nodded his head firmly, "As far as I know. Just read the rest."

Rowen picked up the letter again, "We have sent her free. But whether or not she comes back to you is not our problem. Good luck and best wishes to you and your daughter." Rowen crumpled the note tightly in his hands. "How can they just say that after they basically _destroyed_ my life!? It's like they think it's normal for people to come back after they are supposedly 'dead' for three years!" Rowen groaned in aggravation.

"Let's call Raya and Cye! And Ryo!" Natsuki clasped her hands in delight.

Sage grinned, "Go right ahead!"

"No! Wait a gosh-darn second, Natsuki. Don't do anything until we know for sure that Kia is still alive." Rowen kept his glare on her.

"Oh… okay."

Sage stood up, "C'mon! Just call them and say that we got a letter from the WPP. She's still alive-"

__

"How do you know!?" Rowen questioned harshly.

"Oh! Umm… Kia isn't one to go down so easily, Rowen. She's done this before, hasn't she?" Sage replied with an uneasy smile. 

Rowen deeply focused his dark blue eyes on Sage's pale violet ones. He hesitated before speaking, "Just don't do anything until Kia comes back… _if_ she comes back." Rowen sighed. A few short moments passed before Ayame woke up, her cries echoing to the three in the family. Rowen groaned, "You know where I'm going." He stood up and warily walked over to the stairs.

Natsuki watched him with slight worry, "Are you sure that he's okay? What do you think will happen to him if she really does come back?"

Sage smirked, "I don't know, but it'll all be good."


	4. Kia

The next morning, Sage yawned, waking up, and rolled over. When his eyes focused on Ayame, he abruptly sat up in bed and pulled the cover over his bare chest, "Ayame?! What are you doing in here?"

Ayame smiled, "Wake up, Sage!" she shook him gently, but had to pull away to cover up her cough.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded her head slightly, "Sage, get me some brefast." Ayame smiled brightly and jumped down from his bed and quickly ran out the door.

Sage exhaled deeply, smiling with something akin to relief. He mumbled something to himself and slowly got out of bed, realizing that Natsuki was already out of hers. 

"So, what's for breakfast this morning?" Sage stumbled into the kitchen, glad to have finally gotten some sleep for once in two days. He found Rowen and Natsuki sitting at the kitchen table, drinking tea. Ayame was busying herself watching cartoons in the next room.

"Whatever you want, "Natsuki mumbled and took another sip of her tea.

Sage walked over to her and slipped his arm around her shoulder. Leaning in, he kissed her ear and planted another small kiss on her cheek.

"Sage, as much as I love you, don't kiss me today. I feel sick and I don't want you to get sick either."

Sage grinned slyly, "What, you don't want me to get sick with you?"

Natsuki smiled softly, "It wouldn't be worth it for both of us to be miserable, now would it?"

"Good point, "Sage took his arm off of Natsuki.

Rowen chuckled, "You two are quite the loving pair."

Sage opened his mouth to comment, but he wisely held it back as he sighed and shook his head.

"But I think your daughter has it, too." Natsuki turned around to look at Ayame as she let out a couple of coughs.

"Yeah, I know. Maybe it was the hotel or something."

"But you're just fine, Rowen. How come you don't have it?" Sage cocked his eyebrows in confusion.

Rowen shrugged, "Don't know. But then again, I slept on the couch, not the bed," he replied, not looking up from the paper that he was reading.

"Oh…" Sage recalled that they had to share a hotel room. 

Natsuki coughed then, almost as if to say 'shut-up, Rowen'. He wisely got the hint and closed his mouth.

Sage quickly changed the subject, "What time is it?" 

Rowen glanced at his wristwatch for only a second before he went back to reading the paper, "A little past 10 o' clock. Why?"

"Hello! Is it just me or don't you realize that Kia, your wife, could come back at any time now!" Sage almost yelled.

Rowen sighed and looked up from his paper, "I know, I know. I just don't want to get my hopes up too high and then have them crash and burn when she doesn't come back." Rowen stared hard into Sage's eyes as he waited for a reply.

But he didn't respond. Sage slowly shifted his gaze away from Rowen and stood up, walking into the kitchen.

"Dad-ie!" Ayame ran over to her father, "Dad-ie, come outside wiff me! I wanna play baskeet ball!"

Rowen looked to the television just as a basketball commercial turned off. He chuckled, "Okay, but let me get some shoes on."

Two minutes later, Rowen and Ayame headed outside and walked to the basketball hoop. Ayame was delightfully carrying the bright orange ball that was way bigger that her own head. 

"Now, how cute it that?" Sage asked as he looked out the kitchen window at Rowen and his daughter. They both could barely move through the coats that they both wore. But being the month of late November, you couldn't go outside without wearing a coat. 

"Just be thankful that you don't have one."

"What? Are you talking about a kid?" Sage replied, looking to Natsuki with something close to exasperation. But she just firmly nodded her head and went back to making more tea. 

Sage sighed and smiled softly, pausing to take a drink of his orange juice. "So, you're saying that you don't want a baby?"

"Not right now," she answered softly, not looking up from her tea glass that she was stirring. "Babies smell and they always cry. Don't you remember when Ayame was one?" She looked to Sage for some sort of reply, but he just nodded and rolled his eyes. "See? You also have to do everything for them and guess what you can call yourself - a baby slave! Not a mother or father, a baby slave is what you are."

Sage faked a laugh, hiding his shock in her opinion, "Well, now that I see your look on having children, I don't think-"

"Just drop the subject, Sage."

"Ha! Okay, Suki, whatever you say." Sage turned his eyes back to the window and watched enviously at Rowen and his daughter, Ayame. 

"Ready, Aya?" Rowen held the basketball. "This time you are gonna catch it."He brought the ball back a little, preparing to gently throw it to his daughter.

Instead of joyfully and anxiously waiting for the ball, Ayame coughed and plopped her behind on the ground.

Rowen pulled the ball in front of him as he straightened himself, "Are you all right?"

Ayame slowly shook her head and rubbed her eyes.

"Oh. Why don't you just stay here for a second and wait for daddy to come back out with something to help you, okay?" He light-heartily responded, rolling Ayame the orange basketball. 

"Oh-kay."

Smiling softly, Rowen turned around and started to walk back up towards the house. Just as he was about to open the door, Ayame stopped him.

"Dadie, who is that lady?"

"Huh?" Rowen turned on his heel, "What lady?"

"Her!" Ayame pointed down the driveway and stood up.

Rowen looked to where she was pointing. There, he saw a woman - long flowing black hair and a matching black shirt with blue jeans to accompany it. Even though Ayame was practically screaming 'lady' at her, she just continued to causally walk up the driveway.

Rowen couldn't believe his eyes, "... Kia?" 

The woman finally slowed to halt just before Ayame, who had now quieted, but her eyes where on Rowen.

My gods, how Rowen's changed...

"Ayame... I can't believe it..." Kia slowly looked down to her dark haired, blue-eyed daughter.

"Are you..." Ayame blinked, "Mommy?"

Kia nodded and kneeled down, taking her into her arms and practically squeezing the life out of her. She tried so desperately to hold back her tears that she felt her eyes could have exploded with them at any moment. 

"Dadie!"Ayame cried, turned her head just slightly to make eye contact with him, "Dadie! Look it's my mommy!" 

All Rowen could do was smile. 

After a few moments with her daughter, Kia let her go and stood up slowly, making eye contact with Rowen at the same pace. 

"Rowen..."

"Kia... I would have never have thought... KIA!" He bolted from the porch as if someone had lit him like a rocket. He even hit Kia with so much force that he tumbled on top of her onto the ground, planting full kisses on her lips. Kia was left to only do the same.

Eventually, Ayame ran inside and got Sage and Nastuki. The three ran rushed out of the house and Sage and Natsuki only laughed to find Rowen and Kia on the ground.

When Rowen finally realized that Sage and his wife were outside, he stood up from Kia and helped her do the same, but taking her in his arms. 

"Kia! I can't believe that you are actually back!" Rowen cried. "Are you sure that you're okay?"

Kia pulled Rowen's arms tighter around her, "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Kia..."

"Natsuki! Oh my gods!" Kia flew from her husband's arms and ran into Natsuki's. She hugged and kissed her on the cheek. Then she held her back by the shoulders, "You look so much... older and smarter. Has it really been that long?" 

"Now, hey. What about me?"

Kia locked eyes with Sage, smiling softly, "I can never forget about you, Sage." She stepped away from Natsuki and into Sage, embracing him tightly. 

"Wait a second. Something's wrong."

"Huh?"Kia pulled away from Sage just enough to look a Rowen, "What?"

"I know what's wrong." Sage smiled, "But I was just about to fix it." He pulled Kia back to him and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. 

Kia pulled away quickly, giving Sage a glance that only told him that something was wrong.

But no one else noticed it, "So, Ayame," Rowen bent down to pick up his daughter, "What do you think of your mother?" He moved his dark blues over to Kia.

Ayame smiled, pressing her face into Rowen's shoulder, "Nice," came the muffled reply.

Kia laughed, "Just nice?"

Ayame nodded, bringing her face up, "And pretty."

At that, everyone laughed. 

"I love her already!" Kia cried, holding Ayame's face in her palms. 

"Well, everyone, now that we are further acquainted, can we all go back inside? I'm getting cold." Sage whimpered, shuddering. 

"Good idea. We can't have you two more sick that you already are." Rowen started walking back towards the front door, Ayame in his arms. Kia, Sage, and Natsuki followed. 

"So, do we want green tea," Kia rummaged through a cupboard, "or this tea?" She pulled out a clear, long necked bottle. 

"Definitely that tea," Rowen watched her as he sat down at the table, across from Sage.

She laughed, "Good idea. This _is_ a celebration, isn't it?"

"I'll say. We haven't seen you in over two years, Kia-chan." Sage remarked as he threw on a sweatshirt.

"Who's doing the honor of calling Cye, Raya and Ryo?" Kia implied as she searched through more cupboards, trying to find glasses.

"I will!" Natsuki spoke up from the family room, "I haven't talked to Raya in the longest time." She walked off to the next room where the phone lay. 

There was a long, suspenseful silence that followed next in the kitchen, Kia preparing tea drinks and Rowen and Sage sitting at the table. The guys never spoke, only eyeing each other in question or maybe something else. 

__

This isn't right. Something is wrong. Kia and Sage aren't... well, they are just normal! Rowen thought as he looked to his wife again as she moped around the kitchen.

"Hey, Ro, where are the glasses again?" Kia sounded from the kitchen.

"The last cabinet to your left... no, your other left."

"Oh, okay. Thanks."

__

Gods, what am I thinking? Of course nothing is wrong. Stop imagining things, Rowen.

"So, Kia, how was your two years back at the institute?" Sage spoke up, running a hand down the front of his shirt, seeming undisturbed and casual. 

She grabbed the last glass from the cabinet and sat it down on the counter. Then she made her way over to the table and grabbed a seat next to Sage, "Boring as usual. But I'm out of it for good and there is no way that I'm leaving you guys again." She smiled as she made her last comment, looking to both Sage and Rowen.

Ayame ran into the kitchen then, her eyes sitting upon Kia. She ran to her, "Mommy... you are my mommy, right?"

Kia scooped her up in her lap, "Yep. Even ask you dad if you don't believe me."

"Dadie-"

"Yes, she is, Ayame." Rowen smiled, nodding his head.

Sage rolled his eyes and took his index finger, stuck it in his mouth and pretended to gag. "How sappy."

Rowen laughed, "Shut up, Sage." He threw a wad of newspaper at him.

"Hey!" he batted the paper away from him.

"Did I miss something?" Kia asked, playing with her daughter's hair, smiling, but with a hint of confusion. 

"No. I'm just joking around... like I always do." Sage smiled at his comment, looking to Kia.

She grinned, but didn't look up from her daughter. 

__

Something is definitely wrong, "Are you okay, Kia?" Rowen looked sympathetically to his wife, his tone hinting confusion. 

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Maybe just a little tired, that's all."

"Do you wanna see my room, mommy?" Ayame looked up to her mother's face, grinning like a child who has had too much sugar.

"Sure, why not?" Kia chuckled.

"Oh-kay. Follow me," Ayame took a hold of her mother's hand and led her to the stairs.

As soon as the two were out of sight, Rowen looked directly to Sage and asked, "Is it just me, or is something wrong with her?"

Sage shrugged, "Just you. I don't see anything wrong."

Rowen sighed, "This is all too weird. Kia can't just be back after all of this. Ayame has already accepted her as her mother and... it's just all too strange."

"Stop questioning things, Ro! Aren't you happy that Kia is back? Ayame finally has a real mother. Things are finally looking up for you, but yet all you're doing about it is asking why."

Rowen shot a long hard glare at Sage.

"Look. Don't get mad at me. I'm just wondering why you aren't up there, telling Kia that you love her and eternally thankful for her return. You're her husband for god's sake, Ro. You have a beautiful child together..."

Sage didn't have to say another word before Rowen stood up and stormed his way towards the stairs.


	5. It's blue

"And this is Dadie's room," Ayame stopped in the doorway of Rowen's bedroom, almost everything inside it white. 

Kia walked in and looked to the dresser, finding two framed pictures. One of them was of herself, Sage, Ryo, Cye, Rowen, and Raya all cluttered up on the downstairs couch. Kia chuckled when she saw herself, drenched in wine and remembering their party night on the day that she conceived her daughter. 

She could only look at the second picture for five second before tears starting swelling up in her hazel eyes. It was her wedding picture. Rowen, dressed in a black tuxedo, navy bow tie, and his right arm around Kia's waist. She was dressed in a traditional white dress, pale pink flowers weaved through her long black hair and matching the flower bouquet that she held in her hands.

"Are you okay, mommy?"

She tried to smile, "Yeah, I'm fine. But can you just leave me alone for a little bit?"

"Okay..." Ayame seemed depressed by her command, but she obeyed her mother and walked out of the room. 

The second that Ayame had walked out of the room, Kia collapsed into tears. Every tear that fell from her cheek was of different emotion or crying for a different person. She even cried in anger at herself, wishing that she had never left the ones she loved in the first place. After she wiped her tears with her sleeve and took in a deep breath, she bit her lip and went to walk over to the bathroom that was within the room.

But before she could get there, Rowen stopped her, "Kia?"

She turned to see her husband in the doorway. Rowen only had to glance at his wife for second to know that she had been crying. He ran up to her and took her in his arms, allowing her to cry in his shoulder. 

"Kia! I'm so sorry! It's all my fault!" Rowen cried, hugging Kia tighter. 

"Rowen, I missed you so much. Just please... please-"

"What?" Rowen slightly pulled Kia away from him so that he could look into her eyes, "Tell you that I love you? Kia, I do love you! I've never _stopped_ loving you for god's sake!" 

"Rowen...."

"Shh..." Rowen cradled her face in his palms and brought her face closer to kiss her. Kia immediately wrapped her arms around the back of his head and kissed back. He feathered his hands down to her waist and then picked her up.

Kia cried out in surprise, "Rowen!" She soon started to laugh as she realized that he was going to throw her on the bed. Once he did, Rowen climbed on top of her and continued to kiss her.

He broke away a few moments later, "Promise me... Kia, promise me that you'll never leave my sight again."

Kia smiled, brushing her hands on the sides of Rowen's face and leaned up to kiss him soundly. Rowen accepted her answer and entwined his fingers in her raven black hair, giving her the brightest smile while gazing deeply into Kia's never ending eyes.

"Mommy?"

Rowen looked behind his shoulder, seeing Ayame in the doorway. "Come here, Ayame," he replied, smiling.

Ayame face brightened for a moment, then she ran to the bed and jumped to the mattress. 

"Hey, Aya," Kia mumbled, running a hand through her daughter's hair and down one side of her fair face. Rowen then rolled off to one side, leaning on his elbow and rubbing his foot against Kia's. 

"Are you okay now, Mommy?"

Kia laughed softly, looking to Rowen, "Yeah, I'm fine now, Ayame."

"Gosh, you look just like your mother, Ayame." Rowen replied, smiling as he looked from one to the next.

"I do?" Ayame questioned, raising both her eyebrows.

"Yep. And that is definitely a good thing."

"Well, isn't that just the perfect little family - or should I say Kodak moment," Sage leaned his shoulder against the bedroom doorway. He was looking at Rowen, Kia and Ayame who were all lying together on the king sized bed. 

"Get a camera then, it'll last longer."

Sage laughed, "That's okay. I think I'd rather join the moment!" No one had a chance to object before Sage ran and jumped on the bed in-between Rowen and Kia. 

Kia slipped her hands behind her head, "Now we're only missing Natsuki."

"Yeah."

Sage then sat up and reached across Kia to grab Ayame. He sat her on top of his lap and laid down on his back, "You are the cutest little thing, did you know that?" 

Ayame nodded, "I know." Her response caused everyone to laugh. 

"Really, Aya?" Rowen paused to get another nod from Ayame.

Sage turned his head to Kia, "Now you know how much Rowen spoils this poor thing." 

"I don't spoil her!" Rowen jabbed Sage in the side. But he just continued to laugh at his counterpart. Kia just shook her head in slight amusement and helped Ayame down from the bed so that she could escape the room. 

Kia watched her go, "It's hard to believe that she's my daughter," She commented, climbing over Sage and slipping herself in-between the two guys.

"Believe it. She is as sweet as they come, Kia. I don't think that I could be any more proud of both of us... or Ayame for that matter." Rowen sighed, closing his eyes and pressing his head deeper into the pillow that he was resting on. 

Kia grimaced at that. "I think I'm going to see if Natsuki is done calling everyone." She sat up and got off the bed, following Ayame's tracks. 

Sage leaned up on one elbow, looking to Rowen, "Is she avoiding me?"

"I don't know what she's doing." Rowen replied while shrugging his shoulders. 

"Well, I'm going to find out," Sage huffed, getting off the bed and speed walking out the door.

Rowen closed his eyes and pulled his hands behind his head, smiling as he breathed deep. We're finally back together again. Nothing else can matter but this,

"Kia?" Sage peeked into the family room, finding her on the couch next to Ayame, watching cartoons. 

She looked up for a second, then back to the TV., "What do you want, Sage?"

He walked over that that he was next to her, "Is something wrong?"

Kia bit her lip, "Ayame, I'll be right back, okay?" She stood up and gestured to Sage, "Follow me." She led him out to the front porch.

Once they were outside, Sage got in an anxious mood, "What is wrong? Kia, tell me!"

"Sage, sit down, please."

"No. Just tell me what's wrong."

Kia sighed and sat herself down on the porch stairs. She folded her hands together in her lap and looked to the side.

Sage stepped down from the porch and stood in front of her, "Kia? Are you going to tell me or not?"

"Sage, whatever I say in the next five minutes, just please... please don't get mad at me."

Sage shoved his hands into his pockets, almost afraid for what Kia was going to say.

"Sage... I'm pregnant..."

"Nani?!"

"I'm pregnant with your child."

Sage blinked, "How... this can't be happening to me..." he took his hands out of his pockets and covered his face.

"Please don't-"

"Kia, just... tell me that you're lying... please!"

She slowly shook her head.

Sage exhaled sharply, "Are you positive that you're pregnant?"

Kia nodded, "I took one of those at home pregnancy test this morning and it turned out a rich blue color." Kia chuckled under her breath, blinking away a weary tear in her eye.

Sage cursed under his breath, "What are we going to do?" he plopped his suddenly heavy body down on the stairs next to Kia.

Kia didn't say anything as she kept her gaze on the ground. Even her breathing was hard to pick up in the solitude of silence in the cold atmosphere that surrounded them.

"Can't you take birth control?"

"No, it's too late. I have to take it before-"

"What other options do we have?" Sage asked quickly, not wanting to waste any of the time that they had alone.

Kia shrugged, "We have to tell them. I'm not going through abortion and I don't know how to hide my pregnancy."

"Well, can't you tell Rowen that the baby is his?"

"I could, but then what if the baby looks like you?" Kia turned her head and locked her eyes with Sage.

Sage seemed paralyzed for that one moment that they looked to each other, but as quick as flame to flicker out in the wind, he pulled his eyes away from hers and sighed again. But this time, he stood up and walked into the house. 

"Sage..." Kia was left out on the porch to fend for herself.

"Hey, Sage!" Natsuki ran into the kitchen from the other room, "I just got off the phone with Raya and Cye and-... are you all right?" Natsuki noticed the extremely drawn expression on his face. It even seemed as though someone was pulling on his face, the way it sagged so.

He sighed, "Yeah... so what did Raya say?"

"Oh... well, she's coming in like... 3 minutes. I actually just got off their cell phone and they are on their way. "

"That's great."

"I know. And Ryo said that he would be here in matter of half an hour."

"So what's going on, now?" Rowen replied, looking to Natsuki as he waltzed down the stairs. 

Natsuki turned to smile at him, "Cye and Ray are on their way over and Ryo will be here in a half an hour."

Rowen laughed, "That is great!" Then he looked down into the family room and set eyes on Ayame, "Did you hear that, Ayame? A friend will be here to play with you!"

"Who!?" She asked, darting her eyes away from the TV. to look at her dad.

Rowen smiled, "Her name is Aoi. I'm sure that you will get along just fine with her."

"Yay!" Ayame shot up from the couch, "I'm gonna get my dolly!" She barely finished her sentence before she ran to the stairs. 

Natsuki watched her with a smile, "Well, she seems in a good mood."

Rowen walked next to her but eyed Sage with brief confusion, as he was noticeably slouching in a kitchen chair, "Where's Kia?"

Natsuki shrugged, "I don't know."

"Sage? Do you know?"

He very sheepishly shrugged his shoulder and opened his mouth to reply, but Natsuki cut him off.

"Wait... there she is. Outside, on the porch," She pointed at the window, "And there's Raya and Cye!"


	6. The big clash

"Omigosh! Kia!" Raya jumped out of the car, needless to say that is was still in motion, and ran up to her. Raya helped her stand and then pulled Kia into her, embracing her tightly.

But Kia didn't hug back.

"What's wrong? Kia?"

Before Raya could say another word, Kia burst out into tears and sobs, flailing herself back into Raya's arms.

Cye passed them soon afterwards, but Raya told him to continue on with a wave of her hand. He shrugged, picked up his daughter, and walked into the house. 

"Kia! What's wrong? Tell me, please!" 

"Raya, I don't know what to do-"

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong!" Raya pulled Kia back from her and eyed her with worry.

Kia sighed and dried some of her tears, then moved to sit back down on the porch stairs, "You promise to keep this a total secret?"

Raya nodded, her worry growing that much deeper. 

"I..." Kia forced herself to look away from Raya's clear with anxiety eyes, "No, I can't. I don't want to burden my problems on your back."

"Kia, please tell me! I want to help you, really! I promise that I won't tell anyone that you don't want me to tell!"

Kia heaved a great sigh, "Fine. I'm... I'm pregnant-"

"That's great!" Raya paused as she glimpsed at Kia's 'I'm not done yet' expression, "Isn't it supposed to be?"

"Not if I'm pregnant with Sage's child!" 

"Sage?"

Kia nodded.

Raya suddenly grew deathly silent, "How?"

"I came back here on Friday and Sage was the only one here 'cause Rowen and Natsuki took Ayame to the beach or something. I guess that you can say that I still like Sage, so one thing led to another and... well, I'm pregnant."

"Does anyone know?"

"I told Sage, but he didn't do anything to help me. I think he is mad at me and... Raya, I don't know what to do!" She started crying again. 

"Kia, calm down." Raya moved to sit down next to her, "You can't accomplish anything by crying. First of all, are you absolutely positive that you are pregnant?"

Kia nodded, sighing slightly to calm herself down just a notch, "I took one of those at home tests and it showed positive."

"What?" Raya started to laugh lightly. 

"It's not funny! How do you think everyone else is going to react to this!?"

"Those tests aren't 100% accurate. Tomorrow... or later today, I'll take you to see my doctor and then we can really determine if you're pregnant or not, okay?"

Kia sniffed and nodded, "I don't want to lose Rowen."

"What do you think you were doing with Sage anyways? I'm sorry to say this but you deserved it. You're both married and not to each other!"

"... I'm sorry,"

Raya exhaled, "Apologies can't change anything. Now, c'mon, let's go inside and forget about this for the moment." Raya stood up and started to walk up the porch.

But before she could get to the door, Kia ran in front of her and pressed her hand against the door, preventing Raya from opening it, "Wait a minute, Ray. You promise that you won't tell Rowen or Natsuki until otherwise?"

Raya smiled, "Of course I won't. This is a very serious subject we're talking about, Kia."

"Good." Kia sighed, gaining some lost strength and confidence and followed Raya into the house. 

"Raya!" Natsuki ran up to her long lost cousin and hugged her. "This is so amazing! I can't believe you're here!"

"I know! I missed you a lot!"

Kia looked glumly around the room. Her daughter and Aoi, who was now about 3 and had shoulder length gorgeous red locks and emerald green eyes, were playing with dolls. Rowen and Cye were talking off in another corner of the room. Not seeing Sage there, she went off into the kitchen. 

She found him there, leaning against the wall and looking out the window. His back was facing her, but from what she saw, it looked like Sage was weeping. 

"Sage?" Kia slowly walked up to him.

No answer.

"Sage, please talk to me."

"What do you want me to say, Kia?" He turned around fixing his eyes on hers. "We can't change anything."

"I know, I know, but-"

"But what? I don't know about you, but I don't even want to know what Rowen and Natsuki are going to say about this when we tell them that we fucked up big time."

"... you don't have to put it that way."

"But that is what it was, Kia! We had unprotected sex. That is why you are pregnant."

"Okay. You and I _need _to settle down. We aren't going anywhere with this."

Sage exhaled through his nose and calmed his tension only a bit. 

"Raya said that-"

"You told her!?"

Kia hesitated, "What was I supposed to do when she hugged me and I burst out into tears?"

Sage quieted.

"So I told her and she said that those at home tests aren't 100% accurate. She is going to take me to see her doctor." Kia exhaled heavily, ready to leave their conversation at that. 

"Kia..." Sage started to slowly walk up to Kia's side.

"What, Sage?"

Sage put his hands on her shoulders, "Kia, I'm really, really sorry."

Kia started crying softly again, and Sage took her into him, wrapping his arms around her.

"No matter what happens, Kia... know that I'll stand by you through everything."

***

"Yeah! I'll get the tea in just a second!" Rowen walked into the kitchen, but stopped dead in his tracks as he lighted his eyes on Sage and Kia. Sage had Kia's waist pressed against the kitchen counter while he kissed her, his arms wrapped tightly around her lower back.

He back stepped, completely shocked, "Let me try walking into the kitchen again..." he slowly turned around.

Kia immediately broke away, "Wait, Rowen! It's not what you think!"

Rowen whipped around, "Then what was it, Kia?!" His tone grew suddenly hoarse. 

Kia was left speechless. Her eyes drifted away from Rowen's and to the rest of the room. There she found Cye, Raya, Ryo, Aoi and Ayame - all staring at her. "Rowen... please-"

"Please what?! I should have known that you two would end up like this!" he rudely cut Kia off, then locked his eyes with Sage, who was still standing in the kitchen, "And you! What the hell do you think you are doing?" he pierced his dark blues into Sage's violet ones. 

"What's going on?" Ryo stood up, demanding an explanation.

"Please, Rowen, Sage... calm down," Raya uneasily spoke up, looking softly to the two of them.

Rowen stole a glance at her for only a second, then he turned his upset and thoroughly confused eyes back to Kia, "I want a full out explanation of this," He slowly narrowed his eyes.

Sage sighed and looked towards the floor, "I guess now is the time, Kia..."

"Sage, should we tell them?"

"Yes!" Rowen shouted, "I want to know!"

Kia slowly met eyes with Rowen, "Okay. Rowen, please... sit down."

Rowen crossed his arms across his chest and stormed over to the couch, sitting down next to Natsuki.

"What the heck is going on?" Ryo looked to Rowen and Sage and back again. "When did Ro and Sage start fighting?" 

"Ryo, just shut up!"

"Everyone, please settle down. I'm not going to say anything until everyone is calm." Kia looked once to all the people who had made there way into the family room.

"Ayame, honey, will you please take Aoi upstairs and go and play in your room?" Raya gestured to her. "I'll get you when we are done talking... okay?"

Ayame and Aoi nodded slightly, indicating that they both understood what was going on. Ayame stood up and grabbed Aoi's hand, leading her to and up the stairs.

When they were both out of sight, Rowen turned his gaze to Kia, "Kia..." he exhaled deeply, "Tell me what the heck is going on between you two."

Kia moved next to Rowen and sat down in front of him on the floor. She tried to reach for his hands, but he wouldn't let her touch him. So she settled to folding her hands in his lap. Before speaking, she closed her eyes, "Rowen... first of all, I'm so sorry. My apologies can't be put into words for they are too deep."

Sage silently moved closer to the group, folding his arms across his chest and closing his eyes. He didn't want to look at Natsuki or Rowen when Kia was done saying what she had to say.

"Rowen... I... I-"

"Just tell me already!"

"I came here two days earlier than when you got the letter. I expected to find you, but you weren't here and well, to put into simplest terms... I'm... I'm pregnantwithSage'schild!"Kia heaved the last part of the sentence into one word. 

The whole room went silent. Tension in the room went from suffocating to nauseating as it shrouded every person. 

Rowen blinked in shock, "... Wha-what?" he couldn't believe his own ears.

"I'm pregnant and... and Sage is the father," Kia replied again, looking anywhere but into Rowen's eyes.

"No... you can't be..."

"Sage?" Natsuki suddenly spoke up, giving him an exasperated and worried look, "Is that true?"

He sighed, trying to delay the time before he nodded his own head. 

But before Natsuki or anyone else had the chance to blink, Rowen jolted out of his own seat, jumped over Kia and bolted towards Sage.

Sage didn't even have the chance to move out of the way, for Rowen had grabbed him by the neck so fast, that even time itself could have gone backwards. 

Rowen pressed Sage's neck up to the wall that lay behind him and stared threateningly into his eyes, "Sage! What the fuck is wrong with you!? I'm gone for only a day and this happens?!" 

Sage tried to respond, but his voice box was smothered too deep into his throat.

"Rowen! Stop it! Let Sage go!" 

Rowen didn't even hear the complaints made by his friends as he was into an emotion that stifled even his hearing. His heart was pounding so hard, that he thought it would pump right out of his chest - but he didn't know how to slow it down. All he knew was that he was holding Sage up against a wall by his throat, "You..." He physically realized what he was doing to his best friend. Rowen immediately let go of Sage and fell backwards a few steps. He soon came to a proper state of mind. "Gods, Sage! Why?!" 

Sage stumbled forward and placed his hand on a nearby table to hold himself from the loss of oxygen. He squeezed his eyes shut, and tried to soothe his throat. 

But Rowen wanted an answer, "Sage, tell me, dammit!" He walked forward until he was next to Sage again. "Why?!" His rage was taking over his body again and he didn't even realize that he was pulling back his clenched fist. 

"Rowen!" Kia ran forward, grabbing Rowen's hands and slightly pushing him away from Sage, "Don't hurt him! Please!" 

"Why shouldn't I? He-" Rowen stopped dead in his breath as he watched Kia's eyes slip back to Sage. Getting even further into his anger, he grabbed a tight hold of Kia shoulders, almost making her look to him, "Never mind about him! Kia, you betrayed me! You and Sage really screwed up this time and I'm never going to forget it! You cheated on me!"

Kia felt her heart skip a beat. She knew that she was probably going to take the blow from Rowen for Sage, but she didn't care. All she could do was close her eyes and wait, grimacing with the thought that her own Rowen would hurt her. 

Rowen soon realized what he was doing. Looking at Kia's face as she waited for him to hit her, made Rowen calm down. He exhaled sharply and let go of her shoulders - well, it was more of a push. "Kia... hugging and kissing can be exceptions, but doing what you did to get pregnant by Sage behind my back... I can't believe it would end like this."

Kia looked to the ground, "Rowen... it doesn't have to end."

"Yes it does!" Natsuki butted herself into the conversation, "This has to end right now! I don't even want to see you _looking_ at Sage, Kia!"

"What?" Kia looked behind her and met eyes with the enraged Natsuki. 

"I agree," Rowen responded, keeping the grim tone in his voice.

"You too now, Rowen?" Kia ran her eyes back to him, "I said I was sorry and I'm sure that Sage is too!"

"I don't care about Sage!" Rowen yelled back, "Sorry can never undo what you did!"

Kia was getting frustrated, "But... but Sage-" Kia didn't get the chance to finish her sentence before Rowen slapped her hard across the face.

*****

So... what do you think so far?? Torturing, eh? Do you think Rowen should of slapped his wife?? Yay or Nay? Please take 2 minutes just to fill out a review!


	7. Baby

Author's Note:: Just for Wingsong who asked, Raya is supposed to be Cye's wife - as Natsuki is Sage's and Kia is Rowen's. Anything else? Aoi is Cye-Raya's daughter as Ayame is Ro-Kia's. To also add while I'm at it, Kento is NOT included in this story... I'm sorry to all the Kento fans, but there was really no reason to put him in - it was just more work than I already have. Like I said, I'm sorry that this story is so confusing! BUT PLEASE KEEP READING!

***

Kia was in shock. She breathed heavily like she had the wind knocked out of her. Coming to her senses only a few seconds afterward, she slowly turned her back on Rowen, bringing her hand up to her cheek and ran out of the room and out of the front door. Sage gasped and ran after her - wisely making a round turn around Rowen. 

Rowen angrily marched his way out of the room, shortly followed by a weeping Natsuki.

"So... what just happened?" Ryo spoke up, his tone only in shocked confusion as he blindly glanced at the only other three people left in the room. 

"Kia came back here three days earlier when only Sage was home. Rowe- none of us knew about it. She is supposedly pregnant with Sage's kid."

"This is so screwed up."

"Well, we can't just sit here. Ryo go and try to talk to Sage and Kia. Cye please check on the girls upstairs and I'll try to talk to Rowen and Natsuki." Raya ordered everyone off with some waves of her hand, then left the room to hunt for Rowen and her cousin. 

***

Sage ran after Kia. He would of called out for her, but his throat still hurt to talk - much less yell across the yard. He caught up with her halfway down the driveway and put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

Kia shrugged it off, "Leave me alone!" 

Sage managed to force his voice to work, "Where are you going then?"

"I'm going somewhere... ANYWHERE but here!" she yelled. She only took a few more steps down the driveway before she really started to cry. She whipped around, locking her teary eyes with Sage, "... I don't know what to say, Sage." A tear that fell from her eyes stung her cheek and she brought her hand up to wipe it away.

"Then don't say anything," Sage replied softly, taking a step forward and taking Kia into his arms, "I'm so sorry..."

***

"Rowen! Rowen, wait a minute," Natsuki ran up to him, trying to keep up with him as he stormed down the hallways, knocking some things over and running into other things. He soon found his way into the den and finally stopped when Natsuki put a hand on his shoulder. 

"Do you know what I just did?!" he cried in anger, "I just slapped my wife!" Rowen collapsed on a couch and covered his face with his hands, but soon pulled them away to look at them, almost not believing what his hands allowed him to do.

"Rowen-"

"Gods, I am such an idiot!"

"Rowen!"

Rowen looked up, finally mentally noticing that Natsuki was with him. He studied her face for a moment, then sighed deeply, bringing tears to his eyes, "Natsuki..."

"Rowen, please," Natsuki sat down next to him and took his hands in hers, "Don't feel bad."

"Feel bad?! I feel horrible!"

"You finally slapped some sense into her, Rowen!" Natsuki yelled, pausing only a second to make sure that Rowen had heard her, "To tell you the truth, I think she very well deserved it." 

Rowen continued his deep gaze into her eyes, only now they were filled with something close to unbelief, "She _deserved_ it?! How can you just say that?! That is _my_ wife and _your_ husband that we are talking about, Suki! Kia is pregnant with Sage's child! Please tell me that you understand that!" 

Natsuki sighed, "I know, I know, I do understand that. But-"

"I know that she sort of deserved it, but..." Rowen looked back down at his hands, "No! What am I saying?! She's pregnant... I can't get over that."

"Well, you have to get it through your head sometime. Sage and Kia turned on us, Rowen. They deserve exactly what is coming to them, don't forget that. I thought it was perfect of you to slap her. She cheated on us for god's sake!"

"This is not happening to me-"

"Are you two all right?"

Rowen and Natsuki turned their heads to see Raya in the doorway. 

"Yeah..." Rowen sighed again, "Did you know about all of that - of what was going on between those two, Ray?"

She calmly stepped into the room, "Yes... I guess you could say that I did."

"What?!" Natsuki and Rowen both shot her an exasperated glare.

"What I mean is that Kia told me everything when we got here. I've only known this for the period of time that I've been here."

"Oh..."

"And, well, I'm sorry. But you guys should be sorry too. You slapped her, Rowen. That is a very big - not to mention emotional - thing for a woman like Kia."

"Be sorry?! But what do I have in it!? Sage cheated on me and there is no plainer way to say that!" Natsuki practically yelled.

"No, Natsuki... don't you remember?" Rowen placed his hand on hers, looking worry-some into her eyes. "We might as well say-"

"What? Don't tell me that you're pregnant with Rowen's child!" 

Natsuki let out an evil laugh, "Heck no."

"Then what did you guys do?"

Rowen and Natsuki looked at each other for a second, then looked away. Rowen was scowling, but Natsuki was trying hard not to smile. 

Raya rolled her eyes, "Well, if you're not going to tell me, than that's fine. But either way, I assuming that you guys cheated too."

"We know. But it wasn't as far as getting pregnant!" Natsuki shouted in reply.

Raya narrowed her eyes, "But the emotion and the attraction were there... am I right? It doesn't matter how far you two went."

"Whose side are you on anyways?"

Raya stepped back and smiled, "No one's. And if I'm on anyone's side, it's defiantly with you, Suki. But that's why I am here. Someone needs to talk some sense into all of you. I'm not leaving until Rowen, Sage, Kia and my cousin are friends again - more or less husband and wife's again." She stared downward at the two, waiting for a reply. 

But she didn't get one. Rowen only exhaled, bringing a hand through his hair and looking past Raya into the family room. Natsuki lazily crossed one arm across her chest and looked towards the window as she played with her blonde hair.

"You guys... we're not going anywhere if you don't talk." Raya sighed, "Rowen, you don't know how sorry Kia is. When I talked to her, she wouldn't stop crying and she made me promise not to tell a single soul. I think she was even on the line of threatening me if I didn't promise her that. Just by that much, you should be able to tell that she doesn't want to leave or hurt you." Raya bit her bottom lip as she slowly made eye contact with Rowen. 

"Is there anything worse that she could of done, though?"

"Rowen, if you married her for what she was, then you two are still married. She hasn't changed." 

Rowen winced, "But to go for my best friend behind my back!"

"You did it too! Don't deny it, Ro. Besides, she only took an at home test. She didn't get a full out doctors examination. She still has a chance of not being pregnant."

Rowen sighed, finally coming to a stage where words weren't necessary. He stared at Raya like he knew what she was saying, but he couldn't for the life of him understand why he had to be there and be right smack dab in the middle of it.

"If I were any of you, I would tell them what you two did and then apologize. Kia is the only one who has even tried to say sorry. I'm sure that if you get Sage talking, he is probably as sorry as she is. No one knows what is exactly going on and only the four of you can clear it up. Me, Ryo, and Cye are just here. We are your friends. Friends don't let friends fight and we take care of each other... am I right?"

Natsuki and Rowen both nodded, their heads seeming heavy with the truth that Raya was bringing into the light for them. 

"See? So don't get mad at me. I'm only here as your friend to help you through this. But you have to make the choice. You can either make your friendship or break it. But no matter what happens, I'm still going to be both your friends. I'm not taking either side." Raya stopped there, exhaling extensively as though she was glad to have everything that she wanted to say off her chest.

"... You're right, Ray. I'm really sorry." Natsuki stood up and walked over to Raya. Her arms were outstretched to embrace her.

***

"Hey Sage! Kia!"

Sage and Kia both turned heads to watch as Ryo raced down the driveway.

Sage put a hand on Kia's shoulder protectively and pulled her closer to him, closing his eyes.

Kia glared at Ryo over Sage's shoulder, "What do you want, Ryo?" Her voice was hoarse with an overwhelming weight of emotion. All her emotions were put into a blender and no specific one showed through.

"You guys..." Ryo stopped to catch his breath, "We need to work something out here. I've never seen you guys fight like this before and I'll tell you one thing... I'm kinda afraid."

Kia closed her eyes, dropping her head on Sage's shoulder, "What did Rowen say to you?"

Ryo let his mouth drop in shock, "Since when are you against Rowen? He didn't say anything to me and I didn't say anything to him! So-"

"You're lying, Ryo. I can see it."

"I'm not freakin' lying here! Sage and Rowen have never fought in there entire life! I would never lie about something like this! So you, Kia, you should just-"

"Just what, Ryo?" Sage opened his eyes, glaring at Ryo from the corner of his eyesight. He waited a bit for something from Ryo, but he cowered a little, showing that he somewhat respected Sage's authority. Sage smiled on the inside, but of course he didn't dare show it, "Don't get into this any farther that you need to."

Ryo sighed in something close to defeat. "Okay, I'm sorry. It's just that I don't want anything like something as stupid as this to ruin a lifetime of friends."

"You think this is stupid?!" Kia ripped away from Sage to glare at Ryo, "This is anything but! I don't even know why you are in this, Ryo! You are only making it worse than it already is," she narrowed her eyes for only a second then went to turn her back on both of them.

"But I need to be in it, Kia! We are friends, are we not?"

"It's bad enough as it is. If you get involved... I don't know what is going to happen."

"Kia, maybe we should listen to Ryo. I mean, we aren't going to stand out here all day. Rowen and Natsuki will never come out here and just suddenly say that they are sorry. We can't just magically poof be back to normal again-"

Kia groaned, "Gods, I can't stand this anymore! Am I the only one who wishes that I never came back here in the first place?!"

"Kia, don't say that."

"Kia!" Ryo pulled on her shoulder and turned her to face him, "Stop it! Everyone here wants nothing except for this to work out." Ryo continued to stare at her, even though her gaze was placed on the ground. "And neither of us," he paused to glance at Sage, "none of us want you to leave."

"But what are we supposed to do, Ryo?"

He sighed and softly shrugged his shoulders, "Go with the flow, I guess. We don't know what'll happen until it happens... right?" He thought his little input was slightly funny, for he held a wide grin on his face. But Ryo didn't get the reaction that he was expecting. Sage and Kia didn't even do so much as twitch a muscle because they seemed to be occupied with staring at the ground. 

"Well, it looks like the redness in your cheek has gone down," Ryo brushed his palm against the side of Kia's face, sighing softly when he finally got Kia to look at him. "I don't know why Rowen would even _want_ to be mad at a pretty face like yours."

Kia smiled. Her smile turned into laughter and just when you thought her laugh couldn't get any louder, she started to cry. Kia fled into Ryo, her arms wrapping around him, hugging him so tightly that Ryo thought that she was going to squeeze the liquids out of him.

"I don't want to go through with this, I don't!" Kia cried into his chest, her voice surprisingly clear considering how hard she was pressing her face into Ryo. 

But all Ryo could do was slowly bring his arms around her in return, his wide eyes showing that he didn't know what else to do.

"Kia, settle down. Everything is going to be fine." Sage tried to reassure her, but he was as about unsure of himself as ever. 

"No, things are not fine, Sage!" 

Ryo reluctantly put his hand over the top of her head and pressed his face down next to it. "Kia... please, don't cry." He softly hushed her, continuing to rub his other hand over her back. "Please stop crying." 

To Sage and Ryo's complete shock, she stopped. She just pulled herself free from Ryo's hold and walked away, walking to the grass lawn and sitting down on the ground, collapsing on her back. 

Sage glared at her for a few seconds, then turned his confused glance to Ryo, who told him to follow him as he walked over next to Kia.

"Are you all right, Kia?" Sage asked as he sat down on one side of her, Ryo sitting on her other side.

She put one hand up to where she had been slapped and closed her eyes, "Would my husband really slap me? This all has to be a dream..."

Ryo sighed and laid down on his back.

"Why did I have to screw things up, Sage? Things were going so well for all of you. I just _had_ to come back and mess up everything. Now because of me, two marriages are breaking up and a friendship of twenty years is about to be destroyed." 

Sage's anxiety rose as he stared into Kia's blank eyes, "It's not at all like that! Kia, nothing-"

"You and Rowen have been friends for as long as you can both can remember. I had to fuck it up. I had to blow the trust that you all had," she stated blankly as she stared into the sky, and the way she stared at it, it almost seemed like she wanted it to fall on her. Snowflakes started to fall freely from the gray-blue overcast above, as if it was weeping for her. Kia closed her eyes, "I'm sorry..." she whispered, her voice as soft and shallow like the wind.

"Kia, stop it!" Sage bolted his hands to her face, pulling slightly on her to get her to look at him. "This isn't your fault, okay! Stop blaming yourself!" Sage was almost forced to tears as he locked eyes with Kia. Her eyes were so empty and her face was so white that Sage began to wonder if Kia was even mentally conscious. Sage began to shake her, trying to get her to enter a normal state of mind, "Kia! Don't even think for one second that all of this was your fault!" he screamed at her. 

"Sage, stop! You're going to hurt her!" Ryo jumped up and pulled his hands away from Kia. "She's just in a state of shock, leave her alone!" 

"Ryo, I'm fine, okay?" She lightly pressed on his chest, pushing him away from her. "I'm fine, really." 

Ryo stared into her eyes, noticing that she really did look unconscious. Her eyes were now a soft gray and her skin was so pale that even the snow looked tan compared to her. "Omigod... you guys just stay here, okay? I'm going to go and get help-"

"Help? I don't need help, Ryo. I'm perfectly fine, okay!?" Kia yelled, her eyes shrinking to slits as she stared at him.

"I know, I know, I believe you. But I'm going to get a coat or something... you're going to freeze," Ryo retorted, his tone commanding authority. He stood up, "Just stay here for a minute, okay? Don't you even think of leaving me." With that said, he raced back towards the house. 

"Kia... everything is going to work out fine, all right?" Sage reasoned, grabbing her hand and rubbing it to keep her calm.

But Kia took his hand and put it on her belly, "Sage, do you really want to go through with this?" she closed her eyes, squeezing them to keep her tears back. "Do you want a child?"

Sage quieted, hesitating for a couple of moments, "...Kia,"

She opened her eyes again, gazing almost dreamily at Sage, "Hmmm?"

He pressed his palm lightly on her stomach and rubbed it, "... Yes, I do." He swallowed the heavy lump in his throat, "I want this baby, Kia..."

Kia closed her eyes, placing both her hands on top of Sage's and let one single tear escape her defenses. 


	8. Confusion

Ryo ran into the house, desperately searching for something - anything - that he thought would help Kia. He eventually sprinted back down to the front door, holding in his arms a coat, a warm pack, and some Advil. But before he could bolt outside, Raya stopped him.

"Ryo, where are you going with all that stuff?"

He turned around, meeting eyes with Raya who stood behind him, giving him strange looks from the family room doorway, "These are for Kia. She's is acting _really _weird... like she's not mentally conscious or something. I think she is just in a small state of shock," Ryo replied quickly, then pausing to steal a glance at Rowen and Natsuki who both came walking into the family room behind Raya.

"What happened?" Rowen asked, slowly and cautiously. 

Ryo tried to give him a friendly smile, but it only came out as a worried grin, "Kia is just... well," He stopped and threw everything that was in his arms to the floor. Slowly making eye contact with Rowen, he continued, "Ro, Natsuki, you guys _have_ to make up. Kia is just crying and I wouldn't be surprised if she really did go into a state of shock. And Sage... well, he will barely talk to me. I'm surprised I got as much out of him as I did." Ryo sighed, rubbing the back of his head. 

Natsuki stood up, a somewhat irritated expression on her face, "Where are they? Are they still outside?" she looked out the window that was in front of here, commenting that it was snowing.

Ryo nodded his head, "Yeah. They are out in the front yard."

Natsuki turned her head down to Rowen, "Well... do you want to go out to them? Tell them what happened?"

Keeping his eyes focused on the ground, Rowen nodded slightly.

Raya moved to the stairwell, "I think I'm going to check on Cye. But you three go ahead and go outside. I'll be down in a moment." Without talking another breath, she quickly fluttered up the stairs.

Ryo turned on his heel to the door, pausing in the doorway, "Are you two coming or what?"

"C'mon, Ro," Natsuki whispered.

They all walked outside and immediately set their eyes on Sage and Kia, who were both now standing in the middle of the yard, letting the snow fall heavily around them. Sage had both his arms wrapped around Kia's waist and his head rested on top of hers, eyes closed peacefully. Kia's arms were dangling from Sage's shoulders and her face couldn't be seen by the way she had it buried in his chest. The two never moved, like statues molded together in that state of possibly loneliness, guilt or complete happiness. Sage and Kia didn't have the slightest clue to what it was, but they both knew that whatever it was, it was slowly consuming their insides. 

Natsuki stopped dead in her tracks and gaped at her husband. It was such a shock to her that even Rowen had to nudge her in the side to get her to stop staring.

When Rowen thought he got her attention, he spoke, "Natsuki, maybe we should-"

But Natsuki was paying the slightest attention, "Sage!? Is that... this what you want?!"she cried, almost forcing herself to speak as her eyes blazed hatred. 

Sage blinked his eyes open and turned his head to the side, him and Kia realizing that the rest of the group was outside. "Huh?"

"Is that... that _thing_ what you really want?!" she screamed, pointing to Kia. 

Kia inhaled a sharp breath, "What?" her eyes went wide with shock. 

"Oh, Sage! I'm so sorry!" Natsuki burst out into a sprint, running to Sage. She violently ripped Kia away and shoved her to the side so that she could hug him.

When Kia caught her ground, she turned to look for Rowen. But as she met eyes with him, he just quickly looked away. 

"Sage, Sage, what did she do to you?! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Natsuki cried into Sage.

Kia's eyes went back to Sage, eyeing him in distress. Not getting a reply that she wanted, Kia closed her eyes and dragged her feet back towards the house. 

"Sage and Natsuki! Can we talk about this inside? It's snowing and I'm cold!" Ryo yelled, grabbing his arms and turning around to follow Kia back into the house. Rowen followed him, keeping his eyes glued to the ground and not even trying to look at his wife that had so badly betrayed him.

"Okay already, Suki! Just calm down." Sage had to practically pry Natsuki's arms off of him, the way she was hugging him so tightly. "C'mon, let's go inside."

Raya walked down the stairs just as Sage and Natsuki trailed their way into the family room. Kia was sitting way off in one corner of the room, her gaze stuck to the window. Rowen sat in one of the couches beside Ryo, looking at Sage and Natsuki as they made their way to a seat directly across from Kia; only a coffee table separating the three. 

"So where do you guys stand as of now?" Raya demanded as she came into the room and sat down in an empty chair. 

The room was quiet for awhile, until Natsuki decided to speak, "Do you want to start, Rowen?" her voice was low and quiet, hinting that she really didn't want to talk.

Rowen didn't respond, only keeping his drawn out face in Kia's direction. 

Natsuki sighed deeply, "All right... I guess I - _we_ - have an apology to make."

Sage cocked his eyebrows, "For what?" he asked, nervously.

"Well... me and Rowen sort of... umm... also-"

"So _you're_ pregnant now?!" Sage cried, jolting up in his chair and staring hard into Natsuki's eyes.

"No, it didn't go that far, Sage," Rowen suddenly spoke, his glare fixed on Sage.

Ryo heaved a huge sigh, "What?! So all four of you cheated?!"

"But _I'm_ not _pregnant_!" Natsuki shouted. "_She_ is!" Natsuki stopped to glare at Kia and point a finger at her.

Kia opened her mouth to say something, but instead, just glared harshly at Natsuki.

Raya heaved herself back into the chair, "So now that this is sort of cleaned up-"

"What are you talking about, Ray?! Kia is still pregnant. We can't change that..." Natsuki paused, making her glare heavier as she looked to Kia, "_can _you?"

Kia bit her bottom lip, finally speaking, "This can go either way. I won't know if I'm really pregnant for sure until later."

"_How_ can it go the other way if you are pregnant? Are you going to get an abortion?" Natsuki still stared at Kia, wishing for anything in the world to be able to strangle her with her eyes.

Kia looked across the room to Sage, who now leaned against the same wall that Natsuki's couch was against, "... I'm not getting an abortion."

"But-"

"If Kia is pregnant...we're keeping the baby whether you like it or not, Natsuki," Sage spoke up roughly, crossing his arms in front of his chest and gazing at Kia. 

The whole room went silent. Kia bit her lip, desperately trying to hold back the tremendous smile that was forcing itself onto her lips. 

"You are?" Rowen slowly turned to his wife, who shrugged and nodded at the same time in return.

"That is-"

"Stupid! Why are you keeping it! It's _my_ husband!" Natsuki screamed, standing up so abruptly that the couch was jammed into the wall behind it. 

"Natsuki, please, calm down!" Raya warned, standing up herself. 

"No! This... this is totally wrong!" Natsuki clenched her fists so hard that her hands turned white. She continued to glare threateningly at Kia, "I don't want you to have it! I won't let you!" She cried. Before anyone could stop her, she jumped over the coffee table and ran straight for Kia. Kia had no choice but to back up into the wall behind her - she had no where else to go. Once she was there, Natsuki put both hands on either sides of her shoulders and stared dead in her eyes.

"You just can't have Sage's child! I will not let that happen!" Natsuki's words dripped venom as she clawed her nails into the wall. 

Kia stood still and calm, her eyes clearly focused on Natsuki's with fear as she stared her down. But Kia was pressing her back so hard into the wall that it was killing her shoulder blades. 

Rowen tried speaking to her, "Natsuki-"

"Don't talk to me! I don't want to hear it! What I want to hear is your opinion, Kia-dear." She paused to show a twisted smile. "Do you really want Sage!? Do you want him more than even Rowen!? Do you want him so bad that you can taste him!?"

Kia's breathing got quicker by the second, "Wha-"

"I want an answer, Kia! I already know that you were the one who forced Sage to screw you! It's as plain as the slap on your face, you stupid whore!" 

"Stop it, Natsuki! Stop it now!" Sage yelled. 

Natsuki eyed Sage out of the corner in her eyes. Smiling manically, she continued, "Isn't that what she is, Sage!?" Natsuki glared back down to Kia, "A woman who fucks her husband's best friend!? Huh!? Tell me what you are, Kia!" Natsuki shouted, her nails making gouges in the wall. 

"Natsuki, just stop it!" Sage roared back, taking a step forward towards Natsuki.

Kia inhaled so sharply that she felt like she had sucked all the life out of her face and forced it into her lungs. She looked down at the ground, not aware of what she was putting herself in.

"Oh, so now you can't even look at me!? Well, I could have figured that. Lessers aren't supposed to look their superiors in the eye... and a fucking whore is the lowest you can go!" Natsuki watching with pleasure as Kia focused her hatred filled eyes back on her.

Kia exhaled, not believing what she was hearing, "How can you just blurt that out like that!? You did the exact same thing!" she cried back, her anger filling past her limit break.

Natsuki laughed, "I can say anything that you very well _deserve_! And you know what?! I never liked you! You've always tried to steal him away from me! Always!" Natsuki stopped to push herself away from the wall. 

Kia inhaled in five short and quick intakes, filling her lungs with something close to relieved fear. She gently slid her back away from wall that she was pressed against and moved her eyes to glance at Sage. He just eyed her back in hurt shock. 

"Did I say that I was done with you?" Natsuki spoke up, noticing Kia's gaze towards Sage. 

"Natsuki-"

"What do you think you are doing? You are never going to look at Sage again! And do you want to know why?" 

Kia only had a second to look at Natsuki before she pulled her hand behind her shoulder and backslapped her across the same cheek that Rowen had hit her before. When Natsuki's hand swept away from Kia's face, the rings on her middle and fore fingers slid off, flying through the air and landing on the floor across the room. Kia fell to her knees, grabbing the side of her face with both her hands and screaming in pain. 

"Oh my gods, Kia!"

"Natsuki!"

Sage and Rowen fled to help the two. Rowen grabbed tightly onto Natsuki's arms, holding her back while she struggled and screamed to be let go. She even started cursing at Sage when he bent down to help Kia. 

"Natsuki! Stop now!" Rowen yelled, pulling her backward away from the other two. 

Raya finally decided to get up and help Rowen. She ran to her cousin and when Natsuki set eyes on her, she whipped away from Rowen and fled into Raya's arms, crying and sobbing into her shoulder. Raya hugged her tightly, "Natsuki, its going to be all right... please calm down."

Sage tried to help Kia off the floor, but with no success. She just held the side of her face, wailing quietly and thrashing away from Sage's touch.

Ryo sighed heavily, dropping his eyes down to the floor. His vision caught something that laid near his feet and when he bent over to pick it up, he soon realized what it really was. "Holy- Sage! Look at Kia's face, now!" Ryo cried in harsh demand. In his palm, he held one of Natsuki's rings, the tip of if coated in a small amount of blood and a tiny piece of pink skin wedged into the ring frame. 

Sage took one look at the ring that Ryo was holding up and immediately grabbed Kia's wrists, forcing her hands away. Kia desperately tried to get away from Sage, pulling against the hold he had on her and trying to stand up. 

"Kia, stop! Let me see what happened!" Sage pulled hard on Kia's arms, bringing her to a fall on top of Sage's folded lap. She fell into his chest and Sage let go of Kia's wrists but only grabbed onto her shoulders, keeping her in place on him. 

She groaned softly and placed her head on his shoulder, accepting defeat. Rolling her head to the side and closing her eyes, everyone finally saw her face. Her right cheek was dripping in dark crimson blood and some of her long black hairs stuck to the side of her face like glue. Black tears ran down her skin, stinging the two long slashes with their salty kisses. 

Sage could only gawk in disbelief at what Natsuki had done to her. He tried to get the hair out the way, but even before he had even touched Kia, she cried in agony and begged him not to touch it.

Natsuki must of have been pleased by her action, for when she got her look at Kia, she stopped crying and pulled away from Raya, a devilish smile stretched from ear to ear. 

"Kia! No!" Rowen ran and buckled down to his knees next to Kia. "Kia, I'm going to try to help you, okay?"his voice shook as he spoke, fear grabbing him by the throat. 

Kia only squeezed her eyes shut, causing more suffering to herself as more tears ran down her cheeks.

"We need to get your hair out of the way, just hang on," Rowen practically whispered, bringing one of his hands up to her face, right above her ear and started to slide some of the hair strands away.

He didn't even get one out before Kia jerked her head away, screaming in torment, "Please, just stop! Don't touch it!" She pleaded while crying. She rested the other side of her head on Sage's shoulder again biting her lip. More blood dripped off her cheek and fell onto her shirt, making a thumb-sized stain. 

"Just let me help you! Please!" Rowen cried. But to him, Kia wasn't even listening anymore. Her eyes hadn't opened since Sage had forced her hands away and her voice seemed heavy, her words slurring. She just held her head on Sage's shoulder, crying and taking in quick breaths.

Sage uneasily looked to Rowen, "What should we do?" his voice was soft and he tried to sound concerned, but was more frightened than anything. 

Rowen didn't say anything as he tried to make eye contact with Kia. Failing, he just shook his head in disbelief, "I-"

Natsuki found this a good time to speak up, "You shouldn't do anything. If she can take a pregnancy then she can definitely take a slap!"

"Natsuki, will you just do us all a favor and shut your mouth!" Sage yelled back, trying not to move under Kia's weight.

"It's okay, Sage," Kia whimpered, finally opening her eyes and sniffing to stop her crying. She summoned her strength and attempted to stand up, Sage doing everything he could to help her.

"Kia..." Rowen stood up next to her, eyeing her in nothing but worry and concern, "I'm really sorry-"

"No, wait! AYAME! Come back here!"

Everyone turned their heads to the stairs as Ayame came prancing down them, Cye running down right behind her. But she stopped so suddenly in her tracks when she saw her mother, that Cye nearly tripped over her. 

She dropped the doll that was in her hands and her eyes ballooned with shock, "... Mommy?"

Kia winced, "It's all right, Ayame. I'm fine-"

"No! Mommy!" she ran back over to Cye and buried her face in his leg, crying. Cye subconsciously rubbed her head, staring wide-eyed at Kia. He could only imagine what happened, "Are... are you okay, Kia?" his eyes were glued to her.

She softly nodded, "I'm fine."

"Oh... okay then," he bent down to pick up Ayame, who had quieted down. "It's okay Ayame, they are going to get her a band-aid. But we don't want to be in the way, do we?" Cye smiled softly as Ayame shook her head. "Okay, so let's go back upstairs and let the adults help her, all right?" He didn't say another thing as he slowly walked back up the stairs.

"What are you talking about, Kia?" Everyone's eye diverted to Natsuki again. "You are anything _but_ fine. You have a scarred face and your pregnant with my husband's child! You'll _never_ be okay!"

Kia screamed. She ran for Natsuki's neck and she would have gotten there if Sage hadn't fiercely grabbed her by the back of her arms and held her back.

She screamed out in anger, "Did you really cheat on me for _that _woman, Rowen?" She didn't wait for Rowen to answer before she tore away from Sage, making him let go of her by pinching his arms so hard that he had no choice but to let go and suck in the pain. Kia ran away from that room and she ran back outside, ready to run away again.

"Kia!-"

"No, Sage. Just let her go," Ryo stood in his way, glaring at him softly. 

Instead, everyone watched as Rowen fled to follow her.

**

Author's Note: Well, well, well. Any more comments?? Only 10 more chapters... can you live? I hope that you stay with me... it only gets better here on in. Let me pondle your mind a little - What do you think Rowen is going to say to Kia? How would you feel if you were Natsuki (not to be confused with the Japanese name for Mia)? And how many of you agree that Natsuki is just one big bitch?? Heh. Don't worry, Natsuki isn't all she seems to be.......

Until next chapter- DemYn


	9. Apologizing

Kia ran out of the house, crying and screaming in lost torment. She was cursing at herself for letting Sage get to her like he did and she was so blinded by her own anger that she tripped on her feet. Her face hit the cold snow and it left her crying harder than she was before. 

Weakly propping herself up with her hands, she quieted herself by staring at the scarlet snow. As she stared at the patch of red, she couldn't believe that it was her own blood and she wouldn't take in the event that just happened. 

__

Is this really happening? Am I still sleeping somewhere? This can't be me, this just can't be! I couldn't have changed that much! 

Kia hit the ground with her fist and looked up to the sky, "Why haven't you killed me yet?! Why?!" she screamed. Bringing her hand up to the right side of her face, she pressed her index finger hard into one of her cuts until she couldn't bare the pain any longer. She started to cry again, watching through blurry eyes as the snow started to turn black. She didn't even mentally hear the front door open and close. 

Rowen came to halt ten feet before Kia. Seeing the black snow in front of her, he couldn't calm the worry that bubbled inside of him, no matter how many times he reassured himself or took in deep breaths. "Kia," he started, sounding even weaker than he had planned.

But it didn't matter because he didn't get a reply. 

He moved to sit down next to her, but she didn't do so much as even tilt her head. "Are you all right, Kia?"

"Does it look like I'm all right to you, Rowen?" Kia snapped, looking at Rowen to glare at him. You couldn't even see her skin on her right cheek, looking like she had dipped that side of her face in a bucket of the red liquid that kept her alive. 

Rowen gasped, "Kia, please, let me help you!" he yelled with impatience, bringing his hand up to her. But Kia seemed to bare her teeth as she quickly jerked her head to the side, keeping her ice cold gaze on Rowen.

"No... just leave me alone."

Rowen regarded her like an injured tiger - not a defeated one - from that point on. He knew that if he made one wrong move to upset her, he would be in something that he couldn't very well get himself out of. "Kia... please listen to me. I know that things have really gone downhill, but I haven't changed. I know I was mad at you before but that was because I just... well, I was completely shocked to say the truth. You all of the sudden just came back home and were there for two days without anyone but Sage knowing. I didn't know how else to react to it." Rowen paused for a moment, making sure that he had Kia's attention. "But I can't change the past."

"Did you not just see and hear what Natsuki did to me!? She is in _no_ fucking position to treat me like that!"

"I know, I know. She is not over this yet, either. But just give her time and-"

"I'm not giving her anything but a knife up her throat! If you really like her, Rowen, then you better not leave me in a room alone with her because only one of us will come out and it's not going to be her!" Kia growled, blinking away another tear.

"Okay. But just... will you please come back inside with me so we can get you cleaned up? I don't want to have you get a nasty infection!" 

Kia didn't reply, only looking into Rowen's eyes, the snow falling around them reflecting a brilliant aqua color into the shadows of his dark blues. 

"Kia, please!"

Kia closed her eyes and turned her head to the side. "I'm not going anywhere. I refuse to go back into that house and even look at that woman."

"Dammit! Look at me!" he grabbed the bottom of her chin and held it in-between his index finger and thumb. "Just forget about Natsuki, forget about Sage, the baby, and forget about Ayame. You are my wife, Kia. I love you. No matter what happens or how this turns out, I'm still going to be here. I'm still going to live my life the way I've always wanted to live it... with you. Okay?" 

Kia took a deep breath, "Rowen..."

"What?"

"Are you mad about..." she looked downward, "about the baby?"

Rowen sighed, "I can't really say how I feel about this whole thing or situation - whatever you wanna call it. To say right now, I'm not anything with it. I'm definitely not happy with it but I'm not angry either." Rowen lifted Kia's chin up so he could look back into her eyes, "Do you understand? I'm neutral is what I'm saying."

Kia nodded, "Comprende."

That brought out a soft smile in Rowen's lips, "Now, c'mon. Let's go back inside and get that nasty cut of yours cleaned up."

Rowen stood up and held down a hand for Kia. She pulled herself up and Rowen took her into him. Kia returned his strong embrace, being extra careful as not to touch him with her right cheek.

"Ready?"

Kia pulled away and nodded, letting Rowen take her by the hand and leading her back into the house. When they got inside, Rowen led Kia straight to the bathroom, opening all of the cupboards and searching for things that would help Kia's injuries. 

Sage and Ryo were the only ones who were concerned enough to walk over to the bathroom and see how Kia was doing. They walked in, lighting their slightly surprised eyes on Rowen and Kia. He had a wet washcloth in his hand and was very gently rubbing the right side of Kia's face. He managed to clean up much of the blood, her pale skin showing through again and revealing the two pink scars that ran across her cheek, like two train tracks in the middle of an open country. 

Kia flicked her eyes to the door, noticing Sage and Ryo, "Guys... I'm fine."

"Why are you so calm about all of this?" Sage almost yelled, taking one step into the bathroom. "I mean, gods, just _look_ at what she did." Sage brushed his hand against the side of Kia's face, his eyes heavy with worry.

She shifted her eyes to the large mirror that hung beside her, and stared at herself. Her eyes ran along her reflection, noticing the two pink scars surrounded by purple-blue skin. Kia gawked at them, wanting them to disappear by her hard glare. "I'm fine, really." Kia brought her hand up to meet her cheek, held it for a moment or two, then pulled her hand down back to her waist. "Maybe I really did deserve it," She whispered, too low for anyone but Rowen to hear her. 

Sage stepped back a pace, "You absolutely sure? Cause I-"

"How many times do I need to say this?" Kia blurted out quickly, "I'm fine!" She moved forward and stormed out of the bathroom, knocking into Sage and Ryo's shoulders as she made her way out. 

"Kia, wait!" Sage called, as he, Ryo, and Rowen ran after her.

Kia walked back into the family room, eyeing Natsuki, who was sitting with Raya on the couch and weeping softly into her shoulder. She noticed Kia after a second or so, but didn't even try to make eye contact with her.

Kia sighed extensively and plopped down on a chair across from the two, "Look... I know both of you are-"

"Furious! Why _did_ you come back, Kia?" Natsuki kept her gaze on the coffee table while she spoke. "Or for what it's worth, why didn't you just wait until your husband came back?"

"It's over and done with already, Natsuki!" Sage shouted, cutting himself into the conversation. "None of us can change what already happened. Just accept-"

"I will NEVER accept that your baby is with your best friend's wife, Sage!" Natsuki shot her husband a somewhat exasperated expression.

"Would you stop putting it in those terms? You're making it harder that it already is!" Sage yelled back, his anger brimming its peak.

"Sage, Natsuki! Stop fighting!" Raya looked to both of them. "This isn't going to go anywhere if we all keep yelling at each other," she paused briefly, "Don't you get it?"

"Why don't you take Kia to the doctor and see if this pregnancy is determined to be true or not?" Rowen spoke up from another corner of the room, eyeing Raya in hope. His attempt to change the subject surprisingly worked. 

"Well," Raya turned to Kia, "do you want to go?"

Kia nodded, "Anywhere to go but here is fine with me." Before she stood up to follow Raya, she gave Natsuki a grim glare of her own. 

Natsuki gratefully returned it, "Yeah, it'll be _great_ fun for you! Fucking with the doctor is second next to Sage, isn't it, Kia?!"

"Natsuki!" Raya turned right on her heel, giving her cousin wide eyes and mouth.

Kia clenched her fists but held them at her waist, "I _can't believe_-" she didn't have to say another word before Sage fiercely grabbed onto one Natsuki's hands, her mouth shutting as soon as he did. 

"I have to talk to you, _Natsuki_." Sage stated, his teeth clenched together as he led her into the kitchen. "Raya, just take Kia to the hospital and end this, okay?"

Raya slowly nodded, taking a deep breath as she towed after Kia on her way out of the house. 

After they left, Natsuki and Sage could be heard yelling at the top of their lungs throughout the whole house. They were swearing at each other so much, that Rowen had to force his way into the kitchen to at least calm them. 

"Would you two stop it!? Anyone with ears can easily hear you down the street!" He yelled, switching his gaze back and forth from Sage and Natsuki.

"Is it my fault that Sage and Kia are destroying us?!" Natsuki screamed, glaring hard at Rowen.

"Just stop, please!" Rowen pleaded, matching the tone of his voice with Natsuki's.

Sage only sat by, leaning himself up against the wall, his legs crossed at his ankles and his arms folded across his chest. Staring at the floor like he was made you wonder if he was communicating with it.

"Sage," Natsuki's voice went down to a slightly calmed level, "Sage, you really want that baby, don't you?"

He replied by swallowing a lump in his throat.

"Why won't you talk to me?" She desperately cried, her eyes on the verge of exploding with tears.

"Sage... please, talk to us,"

"Does it really matter if I want it or not? I mean, I'm still your husband, Natsuki," Sage's tone was only a tad above a whisper. 

"Yes, it does! I want to know if you love me or Kia, Sage."

Sage looked up until his eyes met Natsuki's, "I can't answer that question," he replied, almost lip-syncing. 

"It's as simple as saying yes or no!" Natsuki's eyes were slowly becoming a waterfall, "If you really married me, then the question shouldn't be very hard!"

"Okay, okay. Natsuki, do love you," he blurted out rather quickly, his eyes fixing back on the floor, "But I don't know what to do anymore... too much has happened too fast."

Silence lurked in the room from that point on, Rowen looking out the window, Natsuki as she tapped her fingernails on the kitchen counter, and Sage as he took in deep breaths while leaning against the wall. No one spoke, as no one had anything more to say.

But Rowen had to ask Sage one thing more, "Sage?" he waited until he knew that he had Sage's attention, "Did you and Kia really do... have..." losing the word he really wanted to say, he fell into a speech impediment.

But Sage knew what he wanted to ask, "Yeah, Ro... we did. It just happened. And before I knew what exactly we did, I just couldn't..." Sage paused there, sighing heavily.

"But what were you thinking? I mean, without wearing protection?! Gods, Sage!" Natsuki exhaled, bringing her eyes to rest upon Sage's.

"I'm sorry, okay!? How many times to I need to say it? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm fucking _sorry_!" Sage pushed himself off the wall and turned to face it, slamming his fist into the wall, "Dammit!" 

"Sage-"

"I don't want to hear another word!" He twirled around and headed back into the family room. 

Rowen shared an exhilarated and worried look with Natsuki before sprinting after him. He tumbled into the family room, finding Aoi, Ayame and Cye already seated in the couch. They all looked to him as he came into the room. "Did Sage go through here?" Rowen asked, looking around the room.

"Yeah, but he said he didn't want anyone following him." Cye replied, squinting his eyes in a fixed state of anticipation.

"Where did he-"

"Daddy? Where's Mommy?" Ayame cut in, staring her hopefully sad eyes on Rowen. She stood up from her spot on the couch and started to walk towards her dad.

"Oh... ah, she went to the doctor. The doctor is going to help her, so don't you worry, Aya." Rowen picked up his daughter by the waist carried her over to the couch and plopped down sitting her in his lap. 

"They just left?" Cye turned his head to face Rowen, who nodded in return. He sighed softly and started to rub Aoi's back, leaning deeper into the chair that the two of them were sitting in. Rowen did the same, closing his eyes and holding Ayame close to him and smiling as he drifted into a soundless and much needed sleep.

**

"If you could just step into the waiting room until we get your tests results back. It'll be about a couple of minutes, okay, Kia?" The doctor ushered Kia out of the patient room and pointed down the hallway. 

Dr. Squall, or Akio Squall, was Raya's doctor. She often visited him when she was pregnant with Aoi, so now she was sending him to Kia to have a look at her. Akio was in his late twenties, early thirties, with dishwater blonde hair and deep brown eyes. Having a wood personality, he doesn't like change and can hold up to many things... including the treacherous impatience in Kia's fiery demeanor.

"Okay," Kia smirked. She walked down the hall and out into the waiting room, greeting Raya with a flick of her worn-out hazel eyes.

"How was it?" Raya asked as Kia grabbed a seat down next to her.

"Painful."

Raya smirked, "Really?"

"No," Kia smiled at counterpart, "It was... all right, I guess. Your doctor was really nice about the whole thing."

Raya chuckled, "I knew that you would like Dr. Squall."

Kia sighed with a small grin, then looked towards the ground and folded her hands in her lap. 

Raya noticed that her hands were trembling, "Your not nervous, are you?" she asked with a soft tone, her eyebrows forming large arches over her eyes.

Kia shot her an exasperated look, "Nervous? Are you kidding me? Nervous is an understatement. I haven't been like this since my first day at high school."

Raya laughed.

"I am _so_ serious, Ray."

Raya calmed to a wide grin, "I know, I know." She exhaled a brought a wave of concern over her features, then moved so that she was facing Kia, "But you're really going to go through with this if you are pregnant?"

Kia looked to her hands and slowly nodded.

"Well, if that's what you and Sage really want..."

"But you're going to help her, right?"

Raya shrugged, "I really don't know-"

"I meant your cousin."

"Oh... yeah, of course. She's my only cousin, I have no choice."

"Oh gods, Ray! You don't know how much I'm sorry!" Kia cried, darting her eyes to Raya's, "I basically screwed their relationship and I know that Natsuki is never going to forgive me."

"I know, Kia. I know. But no matter how much you and I are friends though, I'm still going to stick with my cousin. She's family... I have to. I hope you understand that." Raya paused to slide her eyes away from the stare of Kia. "I know that she is taking this way harder than normal, but that is just her personality; she can't take it any other way. But on the other hand, I really want you to have this baby... even if it is Sage's. You missed so much when you were at the institute. Sage kept talking about kids and he would always get _so_ jealous of Rowen and Ayame."

Kia blinked, "I... I never knew-"

"Don't you _dare _tell him what I just said."

"I won't. I swear." Kia vowed, staring at the floor. 

Just then, a couple from inside the hospital came out into the waiting area. They looked fairly young, maybe around late teens as Kia guessed. The girl had long black hair, reminding Kia of herself when she was that age. Even the guy, with his blonde hair and green eyes, reminded her of Sage in some way. But then, to both the girls astonishment, the guy just started to shout at the girl, screaming at her that it was all her fault and that he was going to leave her if she didn't fix what she had done - whatever that was. 

The girl hunched her shoulders, seeming to be taking the harsh voice blows by hiding her face behind them. She squinted her eyes every time that the guy raised his voice and even held her hand out, fearing for - and if - the guy hit her.

But as soon as the man yelled 'abortion', Kia widened her eyes in bewilderment and noticibly lost mental conscience of the room around her. It wasn't until Raya put her hand on Kia's that brought her back into reality.

"It's okay, Kia. Don't listen to them." Raya met her eyes with Kia's, trying to assure Kia with her soft and comforting gaze. 

But Kia's mind wouldn't let that thoughts of abortion leave her mind. She kept seeing the same scene over and over in her head, Sage screaming at her to get an abortion and threatening to leave her. Wrinkles in her forehead visibly formed as she thought about what Natsuki was talking into Sage at that moment. She could be telling Sage anything, and Kia knew that if Natsuki really wanted to get rid of her, she could very easily manipulate anyone's mind... including Sage. Subconsciously watching the couple leave the room, she kept seeing her and Sage, fighting it out in that exact same position.

"Kia? Kia Hashiba?"

She darted her eyes to the door, blinking a couple of times to clear the unwanted thoughts in her head. She tried to answer, but she couldn't find her voice.

Raya soon took on what was wrong and answered for her, "She's right here, Dr. Squall."

"Oh, hey, Ray. How is Aoi doing?" Akio asked, shooting her a glance of his cheerful eyes and giving her a nudge. 

Raya smiled, "She's doing great as always."

"That is really good to hear, Raya. Anyway, I have your results, Kia, but before I tell you, I need some information first. Is okay if I ask a couple of questions?"

Kia nodded quickly, too quickly in fact that it told the Dr. Squall that something was wrong.

"Are you all right, Kia?" he asked, placing a warm palm on her shoulder.

"Yeah," she cleared her throat, "yeah, I'm fine."

"She's really nervous," Raya put in, loud enough for Dr. Squall to hear.

Kia glared at Raya for only a second, eyeing her with something like impetuously, but she sighed soon after, seeming to be admitting that it was true.

"Well, I can understand that. I have three kids of my own. But don't worry, Kia. Everything is going to work out just fine, all right?" he waited until Kia nodded her head. "Great. So now I need some information from you. How old are you now?"

"Twenty-three," she replied, rather quickly.

Dr. Squall pulled out a clipboard from the deep pocket in his white overcoat and wrote down on some paper. Not looking up from the clipboard, he asked, "And you've been pregnant before, haven't you?"

Kia nodded, "Yeah. My daughter is two and a half."

"Quite the busy body, aren't you?"

Raya laughed, but Kia could only pretend to laugh. Her heart was pounding directly into her ears and she was surprised that she could even hear straight, for she was in too much worry and guilt to be even thinking about laughing, "I guess you could say that." She faked a weak smile.

"So you're married then, right?"

Kia quieted, then nodded.

Dr. Squall wrote down some more notes and looked back down to Kia, "And have you maintained good health over the first pregnancy?"

Kia nodded and shrugged at the same time, "Yeah, sure."

"Sure? What kind of answer is that?" he peered over his clipboard at Kia like a boy would peer over the edge of a bridge, having a interesting yet unsure look on his face. 

Kia tried to smile, "Okay, then I've maintained good health over my first child."

"Much better," he scribbled down some more notes. Before he even got done writing, he went on to the next question, "Do you have problems with your husband?"

Kia was taken off-guard, "What?!"

"What happened to the side of your face?" He brought his hand to her right cheek, "It looks very recent."

Kia brushed his hand away, looking to the ground, "Nothing. It was just a little accident."

"That's all?" Dr. Squall looked to Raya for another answer, but she just nodded in return. He sighed, "Well, if you say so," he paused to write down more stuff.

"So... are you going to tell me the results, or do I have to keep answering pointless questions?" Kia spoke up, grinning so softly that it made Akio long to see the full smile on her lips.

Dr. Squall shoved the clipboard back into his pocket, "Raya, where did you pick up this character? I've never met anyone quite like her."

Raya began to laugh, "We've been friends a long while, Dr. Squall."

"And, seriously, I've never met such a fire tempered, woman! I swear, the way you acted towards just a shot made me wonder if you were born from the fire element itself!" He must of thought his little joke was funny, for he laughed louder than Kia had ever heard him laugh. Akio was one of the few people in his time to still believe in the five elements that created human-kind - fire, water, wood, metal, and earth.

Raya looked from Akio and back to Kia again with a curious smile playing at her mouth, "Why? What happened?"

"Short tempered and doesn't listen. That's all I have to say," At Dr. Squall's comment, Kia turned bright red.

"What happened? Tell me!" Raya bounced in her seat, demanding an answer.

"She wouldn't change into a hospital gown." Akio replied, "And she wouldn't listen to anything I told her."

"Okay, already!" Kia yelled, almost wanting to stop Raya and Akio from laughing at her by throwing a chair or two.

"I'm sorry, Kia. But it was funny now that I look back on it." Akio responded, taking in a deep breath and calming himself. "Well, that's it for the questions. I'm sure you're dying to hear the results."

"Dying?! More like feeling ready to commit suicide!" Kia cried.

"Yes, please do."

"Okay, here goes nothing. Kia,..."

**

Authors Note: BWAHA! I'm making you WAIT to hear if Kia is pregnant or not. I love slow torture. But let me get a show of hands... how many of you _want_ Kia to be pregnant? How many of you don't? I'm just wondering what the view of the public is. And, gods, Akio is annoying *slaps herself for creating him*. 

Ja- DemYn


	10. Decisions

Authors Note: Didn't I warn you in the beginning?? 'WARNING! Extreme Angst/ Romance/ Fighting/ AND drama'!! heh heh. But go ahead... I know you've been waiting for this. Oh, and before I forget, a HUGE THANKS to all the extremely nice people who have made very encouraging reviews so far... I love you! ^-^ (only 8 more chapters...)

***

"I wonder what's taking them so long..." Natsuki said, more to herself than anything, as she sat down in the family room. She looked across the room, frowning when she set eyes on Rowen and Ayame, who were both laying on the couch, Ayame sleeping in Rowen's arms.

"I don't know, Suki." Ryo walked into the room, sighing and running a lazy hand through his black locks. "But they better get back soon, cause I have to go and get back home... have work tomorrow."

"Have you heard from Sage, yet?"

"No, he's still standing out on the back porch. I really did try talking to him, but he didn't do anything but breathe. I'm really sorry, Natsuki. Why don't you just talk to him?"

"I can't. Not right now anyways. I still have this feeling that he's still mad. I don't want to do anything to get him angrier than he already is, Ryo. At least, not until Kia comes back."

"Why's that?"

Natsuki grinned, "'Cause then I will know whether or not if she is pregnant with_ my_ child!" Natsuki stood up glaring hard at Ryo, "It was supposed to be my child, not Kia's."

"Okay, okay. Don't get mad at me." He cocked his eyebrows as he backed up a step, waving his palms in front of him. His eyes slipped to the window and there he saw Raya's car pull in. "Hey, look! They're back!"

His yell caused Rowen to lazily awake from his sleeping state on the couch. "Huh?" he asked, more a groan than anything.

"Raya and _her_ are back, Rowen," Natsuki crossed her arms, closing her eyes as she leaned her head back into the chair.

Rowen sighed, not bothering to move as not to wake his slumbering daughter.

***

"So? What's the news!?" Ryo anxiously waited for Raya or Kia to answer him.

Raya waltzed into the family room, dropping her body next to Cye and her daughter, "Kia... maybe you should be the one to spread the word."

Kia hesitated, crinkling her brows as she gazed around the room, "Where's Sage?" she finally asked, softer than normal.

Natsuki sighed extensively, almost like she knew that was coming, "Why does it concern you?"

"Natsuki, Sage is really the one who ought to know this first off." Raya spoke up, glaring at her cousin.

"He's out on the back porch, Kia." Ryo mumbled, sad to hear that he wasn't going to know the big news until later.

Kia didn't waste another moment to breathe before she speed-walked to the dining room and out to the sliding door that led to the back porch. There, she found Sage, leaning against the porch gate and wearing a black winter coat. His breath was heavy into the coldness of the air around him, sending thick streams of white smoke to rise out of his light pink lips.

Kia curled her coat around her body tighter and took a deep breath, trying to summon all the courage that she had before she talked to him, "Sage."

He didn't respond.

Wondering if he had even heard her, she called his name again, this time a little louder, "Sage,"

He jolted his head around, immediately locking his eyes with hers, "... Kia." He folded his eyebrows down over his eyes, looking as though he was angry or possibly upset.

"You're not angry with me, are you?" She asked, creasing her forehead in little fear.

He pursed his lips, seeming to stretch the moment that he had his eyes glued to hers, "No... I was just thinking about... about a lot of things. So, what's the news?"

Kia was so surprised about his calmness towards the situation, that she began to think that Natsuki really did change Sage's mind about everything. She was so deep in thought about what she could have possibly told him that she forgot that she was standing in front of Sage.

"Kia?" He anxiously put his hands on her shoulders, shaking her slightly, "Kia? Are you even hearing me?"

She blinked a few times, entering the real world again, "Oh... Sage, I'm sorry!"

Sage closed his eyes and pulled her into him, hugging her tightly. "It's all right. I don't really care about the baby anyways," he said into her ear, inhaling the light mint scent of her hair. 

"No, Sage! I'm really sorry!"

"Kia, it's really all right," Sage managed to force out a few more words before his voice grew hoarse and his eyes got heavy with tears. "It doesn't matter anymore."

Kia tried to continue, but somehow her throat made up its mind to swallow. She didn't know what she was swallowing, unless it was a swell of emotion that she had pushed down to her stomach because her face couldn't hold it any longer. 

Sage only tightened his grip around her as the moment drew on, getting more and more close to tears. When Kia heard him let out a slight sob, she knew that he was crying.

She pulled away from him, holding him back by the shoulders, "Sage... please don't be like this!" she flicked her eyes back and forth across his face, her emotion knotting her stomach until she thought it would split in two, "It's not what you think, not at all!"

Sage sniffed and took a slightly hesitated breath, "You mean..."

Kia nodded.

His mouth flipped right side up, "Really?" he cried, his tone filled with so much happiness and delight that it made even Kia smile. Sage let out a cheer and picked Kia up by the waist, swinging her around in a complete 360-degree circle. "No way! I can't believe it!"

Kia went back to her feet on the ground, "You're not upset?"

"Upset? Heck no! Kia, you don't know how much I was hoping for this!" His smile was so bright that even Kia felt herself being drawn in, almost as if it had a mysterious magnetic attraction. He brought his hands behind her head and pulled her closer to him so that their foreheads where touching. 

"Sage, I-"

"I can't believe that this would go that far..."

"Neither did I." Kia smiled, brushing her nose against his.

"So you're really okay to go through with it?" Sage asked, closing his eyes as he opened his mouth, kissing Kia close to her lips. 

"That's why I decided to tell you first," she sighed, slipping her arms behind Sage's neck and brushed her fingertips against Sage's blonde hair. "I'm really okay with this, Sage. I've decided to go with it."

Sage chuckled softly, then closed his eyes again as he leaned in to kiss her. 

Kia broke away to breath a moment later, "Sage... no one else but you and Raya know."

Sage kissed her again, "What's your point?"

"I think I should at least go inside and tell them."

"Can't Raya do that? Please, Kia, just a few more minutes..." Sage whimpered, leaning down to kiss Kia's neck softly. 

Kia only smiled, sighing gently with her voice and leaning her head to the side, glad to be back in Sage's good company again.

***

"What the heck are they doing? How much time does it take for Kia to tell Sage if she's pregnant or not?!" Natsuki yelled, looking to everyone who was still sitting in the family room.

Ryo shrugged, "I don't know. But a lot rests upon that fact, Suki. It _is_ a big deal."

"Why couldn't she just tell us all at once?! I don't get her at all!"

"Natsuki, this is mostly just between those two. I don't understand why you haven't gotten that yet." Cye remarked, lifting Aoi out of his lap so she could run off with Ayame. 

"Shut up, Cye! You are not in this, so just stay out of it!" She growled, giving him a nasty glare.

"Please, Natsuki! Don't!" Raya pleaded. "If you're _that_ worried, they are just out on the porch. Go ahead and get them, but don't you dare even trying to pick any more fights, okay?" She waved her hand towards the back porch and gave a glance to Cye, telling him that she was sorry. 

She exhaled sharply, "Fine. But I'm not going to sit hear and let them cheat on us!" She stood up and stormed over to the back porch.

***

"Sage, are we gonna keep doing this?"

"Doing what?" Sage whispered in her ear while he gave her hands a tight squeeze.

"Doing this behind Rowen and Natsuki's back."

Sage grinned, "Why? Don't you like it?" he pressed his nose against hers. "We're having a child together... they have to understand that, Kia."

Kia sighed and closed her eyes, "Why do I even bother... anyways, do you have a name in store for your son or daughter?"

Sage chuckled, pulling away just enough so that he could fully focus his eyes on Kia, "How about Jake? Jake Date... how does that sound?"

"_Jake_? Where did you come up with that?"

Sage shrugged, laughing softly, "I really don't know, Kia-chan. I was just throwing a name at you. I'm sure we'll have one when the baby comes."

Kia smiled and she was about to pull Sage to her, but she caught herself when Natsuki violently slid the back porch door open.

"_What_ are you guys doing?" She angrily shot her eyes to Sage, noticing that his hands where lightly wrapped around Kia's waist. 

"We were just about to go inside, Suki," Sage calmly stated, wisely bringing his hands away from Kia and walking towards the porch door.

"Good. All of us are waiting for you two." She stepped back a pace to let Sage and Kia walk in from outside, glaring at Kia's back as she followed her towards the family room.

When the three got back, Ryo had made some hot cocoa and he was passing out a mug to everyone. He gave one to Cye and Raya, who were sitting next to each other and discussing something of no importance, while Aoi and Ayame stuffed marshmallows in their mugs. He didn't even bother giving one to Rowen, who lay asleep on another couch. Ryo set the tray of mugs on the coffee table and went to grab a seat across from Cye and Raya.

He soon noticed that Kia was in the room, "Hey, Kia! So why don't you tell us the news over some hot chocolate?" Ryo replied, too perky for Kia's taste, and gestured to the coffee table. 

"Oh... sure, why not?" she looked over to the table and grabbed a mug. Then she walked over to her husband and sat down next to him. Smiling warily, she started to shake Rowen's shoulder, "Rowen? Rowen, please wake up."

He shifted in his sleep, enough to wake him, "Huh?"

Ayame immediately set her eyes on her mother once she heard her voice, "Mommy! You're back!" She got up and jumped into her mother's lap.

"Hey, watch it now," Kia smiled, hugging her daughter with her free hand, the other holding the mug. "It's good to see you too, Aya."

Rowen sat up and gazed into his wife's eyes, "So..." he pulled his hand through his unruly thin blue hair, "What did the doctor say?"

Kia took a deep breath and put her coffee mug on the table in front of her, "Well, Rowen..." she paused to flick her eyes at Sage, who stood nearby, his eyes light with happiness and a warm smile at his mouth. "I _am_ pregnant."

"No kidding-"

"What's preg-nent?" Ayame looked up towards her mother, her eyes wide with confusion. 

Kia put her hands on her daughter's shoulders, "Ayame, you are going to have a brother or a sister... well, half-brother or sister," she replied, softly stroking the side of her daughter's face.

"I can't believe this..." Rowen exhaled softly, his tone too low for anyone to pick up.

"Well, congratulations, Kia." Ryo grinned, pausing to hold up his mug, "A toast to-"

"It's not a good thing, Ryo!" Natsuki yelled.

"Why isn't it? We've all basically accepted this, besides you." Sage glared at Natsuki, seeming more worried than angry. "What is wrong? I'm still going to be here, nothing is going to change except that Kia is pregnant again."

"But... but I'm not the only one! Rowen? What about you? Now that you know that your wife is truly pregnant, what do you think about this?" Natsuki inquired, gluing her gaze to Rowen. "Do you want to live the next nine months, possibly eighteen _years _with the son of your best friend?"

Rowen exhaled, biting his lip. "Kia, I-"

"I said I was too sorry for words, Rowen!" Kia cried. In desperation, she called out, "You don't have to do anything to help me if you don't want to." 

Rowen creased his brow in confusion, "But I'm going to! You are my one and only wife, Kia. I'm not letting you slip out of my hands anymore."

Natsuki almost yelled out in anger, bolting to her feet as she stared everyone down, "Is this how it ends?! Am I the _only_ one who isn't _okay_ with Kia's pregnancy?!" Natsuki paused long enough to make the tension in the room that much thicker."Is everyone _blind_?! Because of this, Kia and Sage are going to be a second couple! Tell me, who is just _okay_ with that?!"

No one responded to Natsuki. Kia and Sage both met eyes and looked away, fearing what they might be able to translate through them. Ayame didn't understand what was going on, but she was smart enough to figure out that something was wrong. Cye was still trying to start a fire in the fireplace, but eavesdropping and occupying his daughter at the same time was hard to do while making a fire. 

"Do you know what?! I think that the four of you should go outside - go somewhere - and work this out. That is the only way that this is going to end." Raya protested, setting down her coffee mug and looking to Rowen, Kia, Sage, and Natsuki. "None of us want you four to continue yelling like this - especially in front of Aoi and Ayame."

"No! Don't go anywhere, Mommy! Stay here wiff me!" Ayame grabbed her mother's shirt, tugging on it and trying to get her mother to look at her. "Don't go! Peas?!"

"It's all right, Aya." Kia looked to Rowen, "Let's just go outside."

"That's fine with me," Rowen stood up and moved to the front hallway.

"Ayame, I'm just going to go outside for a couple of minutes. You stay here and drink hot cocoa with Aoi and watch some TV, okay?"

Ayame sniffed, "Okay."

Kia stood up and set Ayame back down on the couch. Natsuki and Sage were already outside with Rowen after they had grabbed coats, and Kia went to join them. She snatched her black coat and went outside onto the front porch.


	11. The talk

Authors Note: To any people who don't like violence or language usage... this is a warning. I kinda got carried away with this chapter- hee hee. And I also have some bad news. This is the last chapter that I will post until SUNDAY - July 29. I'm going on vacation and where I'm going, there is no computer. Sorry. So just bare with me until Sunday. And if you can't wait, I'll just say that as SOON as I get home Sunday (which will be around midnight) I will update to chapter 12 and 13... my treat. 

***

Kia watched with brilliance as a light snowfall began to surround the house. "It's so nice out here," she replied quietly while grabbing a chair next to Rowen. 

"I know," Rowen exhaled, leaning his head back and slipping his arms behind his head. He watched with slight amusement as Sage and Natsuki tried to settle themselves on the rocking love seat.

Once they were somewhat seated, Sage turned to Rowen, "So what do we do now?"

"I'm going to hire an asassonist and be over with all of this, Kia." Natsuki watched as Kia's eyes started on fire. "What are you going to do?"

"Natsuki, _stop_! We all came out here to work this out as a group but it seems like you're the only one who needs the working!" Sage nearly shouted, blindly glaring at the woman who sat next to him. 

Natsuki sighed nervously, "Okay. I'll try. Just don't get me too close to _that _woman over there, and I'll do all right."

"Kia-"

"It's fine, Sage." Kia retorted, gazing off to the side. 

"And another thing, if you two cheated on us too, then I want to know how far you went in the hotel room," Sage turned his head, looking at Rowen.

"Not as far as you two, I'll tell you that much," Rowen stated, chuckling softly. 

"Just tell us, Rowen." Kia brushed her hand against his arm, "We are the only ones who can hear it."

Rowen sighed, bringing his hands to his lap and folded them neatly, "Fine. Nothing below the waist was removed," he replied, staring at the ground and not wanting to look up at Natsuki's face.

"Is that all?" Sage asked, having a slight clue that Rowen was holding back from them.

"Sage, I'm not going to go in full detail what exactly happened between us. I'm not expecting you to, either."

Sage sighed heavily and leaned back into his chair. Kia eyed him suspiciously, but thought nothing more of it when she closed her eyes.

"Is this all we have to say to each other? What I mean is, as for all of us, I feel really bad, but I want to get through this without any more arguments or fighting."

"I agree," Sage nodded his head in Kia's direction. He turned to Natsuki afterwards, "What do you want to do, Suki?"

She inhaled and huge breath of air and exhaled it with the same amount of force. "Nothing. I don't want do anything, Sage." She paused for a moment, "You're bringing this baby up without my help."

"Really?! Thank you, Natsuki, thank you!" Sage cried, jumping forward to hug her.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay, already, Sage!" Natsuki pulled away from his grasp. "But, Kia, know that I'm not helping you either. This baby is _strictly_ between you and Sage. As much as I _hate_ it, you can have the baby."

Kia smiled softly at Natsuki, "Thanks... thanks a lot, Natsuki."

She waved a hand through her short blonde hair, looking back to the front door, "Don't mention it."

"Should we go back inside, now?" Rowen grinned half-heartily, flicking his eyes to the door.

"Wait, I want to add another thing." Natsuki held up her hand and pointed to Kia and Sage, "I don't ever - _ever_ - want to see you two kissing or doing anything of the sort." Her navy blue eyes fell harsh onto Kia and Sage.

"Behind our backs," Rowen added.

Sage cried, "Same to you two then!"

"Fine, fine... agreed." Rowen sighed, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

"But... but we're having a child together! What good is it to have the baby when we're not acting motherly and fatherly?!" Sage shouted, trying anything to reason with them. He looked to Kia for help, but she just creased her eyebrows in worry and looked away.

Natsuki laughed, "You're asking me."

"You weren't supposed to cheat on your wife anyways, Sage! That is going to be one of the many consequences that you're going to face by choosing to bring up this child," Rowen commented, locking his eyes with Sage's.

"And sooner or later, you'll have to explain to your son or daughter, that it was a love child. It was a mistake and was never meant to be," Natsuki continued to glare harshly at her husband. 

Sage sighed heavily in aggravation and looked to Kia, who sniffed lightly and wrapped her coat tighter around her body.

"So you two have to remain at exactly a friend level, or this baby thing is off."

Kia narrowed her hazel eyes at Natsuki, "What do you mean by that?" she waited for an answer from her, but none came. "Don't tell me that you're threatening us."

"Well, if I were you, I would never go to sleep or let your new child out of your sight." Natsuki closed her eyes and smiled wickedly, "Besides, babies can't cry when they can't breathe."

"I can't _believe_ you just said that! You would never kill a baby!"

Natsuki tilted her head and looked to Sage, "Then you don't know me very well, Sage."

"You are officially freaking me out," Rowen eyes were as big as twin full moons as he stared at Natsuki, wondering if his ears had deceived him.

"Kia, you're breathing more than your share of air. What's wrong?" Natsuki scowled at Kia, mocking her in an eerie kindly way.

"Natsuki, if you kill my baby, you will _never _be accepted back here! The police would lock you away-"

"Who said anything about the police?! I sure didn't." Natsuki moved to the edge of her seat and stared directly into Kia's eyes, "I would pick a time when you would be too busy _fucking_ Sage to realize that anything was wrong!" She snarled through gritted teeth, "I would kill it so fast that it would make your head spin!" 

Everyone gasped in shock. Kia could only bring her hand over her mouth as she took in quick breaths of fear, "Natsuki..."

"You know it's true... or at least _going_ to be true," she snapped.

"Gods, you are _such_ a _bitch_!" Kia slammed her hand down on the glass table that separated them. In fact, she hit the table so hard that it started to crack in two.

Natsuki crossed her arms, "Is that all? 'Cause I take that as a compliment."

Rowen rushed to grab Kia just as she lunged for Natsuki. He held strongly onto her waist and plopped her down on his lap, locking his arms around her. As much as she struggled and screamed, Rowen still kept his firm grip on her.

Natsuki sat by, trying to seem bored by the reaction that Kia was giving her, but on the inside, she was frightened that if Kia managed to squirm away from Rowen, she would have no defense against her. 

Sage couldn't even look at his wife any longer. He was so bewildered by her last comments that he felt like Natsuki herself had slapped him hard across the face. 

Eventually Kia stopped struggling, but Rowen held onto her just the same, "Don't even _think_ of coming near me anymore!" She cried, letting a few tears of complete fury stream down her face. "You deserve nothing except to have your throat ripped out! And I will _gladly _do it myself!"

"Kia, stop-"

"No, Rowen! You heard what she said! Didn't you?!"

Rowen blinked and looked away from Kia's hatred filled eyes.

"See! Tell me she doesn't deserve that, tell me!" Kia shouted, so close to breaking down into tears that it was like waiting for a cracked dam to explode.

"Why don't you do us all a favor and stop shouting, Kia." Natsuki commented, almost _too_ calm and quiet.

"Never talk to me again, Natsuki! NEVER!"

"That's fine with me."

Rowen and Sage looked to each other, both holding the same worried and terrified expression.

"I'm never going to forgive you for what you've said to me, I hope you know that," Kia calmed by taking in huge deep breaths.

"I'm not going to, either. Not even on my deathbed or in my grave will I ever be sorry for you or forgive you for what you've done."

No one spoke another word. Rowen, Kia and especially Sage all had a totally different view on Natsuki now; be it fear, confusion, or hatred, it was almost all the same. Sage was even beginning to wonder why he had married her in the first place.

__

She doesn't want children, she always flirts with other guys when we go places, and more importantly, she has just threatened to kill my friends! Sage thought, pausing to glace at Kia and Rowen.

"Natsuki, what are you trying to get at?" Sage spoke, turning in his chair to get a better look at Natsuki. "Don't you dare threaten Kia anymore. I've had enough of all of this." 

Natsuki looked shocked, "What? Since when are you on _her_ side?"

"Since now! You have gone way over your head with your insults and if you want to get through this at all, you better stop now!" Sage yelled back, gripping the side of the chair to somewhat ease the tension in his body.

"Sage, really, it's okay. You don't need to-"

"Yes I do, Rowen! She has gone in way over her head and she's not coming back up without talking to me!" Sage stood up and reached for her hand, grabbing her by the wrist, "If you don't mind, Rowen and Kia, I'm going to talk to her elsewhere." He didn't wait for Natsuki to reply before he led her off the porch and into the middle of the front yard. 

"Oh, Rowen, I'm so sorry." Kia whimpered, grimacing as she stood from Rowen's lap and plopped back down on the other chair.

"It's all right, Kia. All Natsuki needs is just a good talking to."

***

"Natsuki, what is wrong with you?! You never treat someone like that, especially someone like Kia!" Sage yelled, staring through Natsuki.

"Look, Sage. I know that you like her, but heavens, you're _married_! You're married to me! Don't you realize that?" She stared back, trying to equal the flame in his eyes.

"I realize more than you know!"

"Like I haven't realized that you want Kia more than me?! I've known that since the beginning! But I thought I could change all of that if I married you." She paused to exhaled, "But what does she have that I don't?! At least tell me that much!"

"First of all, she is a lot more giving than you ever will be. And secondly, she loves her daughter more than anything."

Natsuki looked to the ground, immediately growing deathly silent.

Sage sighed, calming his nerves, "I... look, I'm sorry, but if things keep acting like this between us, I don't think we should be together any more."

"But, Sage!"

"No, Natsuki. I'm very serious about this. If you want to keep fighting with me - or my friends for that matter - than I don't want to be with you any longer."

"So you're just going to pick any opportunity to give me up and go for Kia, right? Am I right, Sage?" She hesitated for a response from Sage, but she didn't get one. "Well, get this through your head; she's married to Rowen. You can't have her." 

"I didn't say that-"

"I sure got the hint that you were thinking about it! Go ahead, Sage! Fuck her every night for all I care! Maybe Rowen can join and then you can be a trio! A fucking _trio_, Sage!"

"Stop it!" Sage screamed. "I can't take this anymore!" With that, Sage stormed off, walking back towards the house. When he came upon Rowen and Kia, who were still sitting on the front porch, he pointed to Natsuki, "I refuse to talk to her! She is driving me crazy!" Sage stopped at the porch steps and clenched his fist. He drove it into the porch railing so hard that the whole porch shook.

"Gods, okay, Sage." Rowen stood up and walked down to him. He put a comforting hand on his shoulder, and tried to reason with him, "What did you try to talk to her about?"

"I don't know and I don't care! All I want is for that woman to leave my sight," Sage growled.

"Well, do you want me to try to talk to her?"

Sage laughed, "Don't waste your breath."

Rowen exhaled sharply, "Sage-"

"But if you really want to talk to her, then be my guest."

Rowen nodded slightly and walked away from him, moving towards Natsuki, who still stood out in the front yard.

"Sage, are you all right?" Kia asked warily, looking down from the porch.

He heaved himself up the stairs, "Heck no. I really wanted to hit her, but I forced myself to walk away. Kia, I'm with you on this one. Natsuki needs a break."

Kia smiled softly, "I'm glad to hear that someone is on my side."

"But seriously, she threatened to kill your... _our_ baby. That was the thing that crossed the line." Sage sighed and sat down on the rocking chair. 

Kia eyed him with worry. His eyes were wide with an unnatural fear and his whole body was shaking - definitely not from the cold. "Sage, you're shaking!" Kia ran up to the chair and sat down with him. She took his hands in hers and made him look at how they were trembling. "I'm sorry!" 

"Kia, it's not your fault. Stop saying sorry, for gods sake," Sage pulled his hands away from her and shoved them in his pockets. "I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" Kia grabbed onto his shoulders and pulled his back into her as she laid underneath him on the rocking couch. She wrapped her arms around his neck and dangled her hands around his chest, feathering the inseam of the coat. "Sage," she rested her chin on his head.

"Hmm?" he brought his hands out of his pockets and grabbed onto Kia's hands.

"I was thinking about the baby..."

"What about it?"

"And about what Natsuki said." She waited for a response from Sage.

"You are _not_ getting an abortion." he tightened his grip on her hands, almost like giving her a bite.

"No, not that. I was thinking about what she said about the love child thing. She was right about that. We are going to have to explain to our child that-"

"It was brought into life by nothing but love. Hence the name 'love child'. Unless you think differently." Sage cut in, tilting the back of his head against Kia's chest so that he could look up to her face. 

She smiled, "No, I think the same way you do. But when we really explain to our child that we were never married-"

"Do we have to? And even if we do, it won't be until another eighteen years, Kia-chan. Don't worry about anything that Natsuki said. She is full of nothing but hot gas." Sage paused as Kia laughed. "Only know that I love you."

Kia sighed, "Whatever you say is fine with me."

"But whatever I say is true, Kia."

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I know," pulling Sage closer to her, she closed her eyes , smiling that Sage had stopped trembling.

***

"Natsuki, are you all right?" Rowen came up behind her, ready to expect nothing from her, like a mouse expects nothing from a snake except that it can very easily be gobbled up.

"Rowen... does Sage hate me?"

Rowen softly met her eyes, "What? No, of course not!"

"Then why is he angry at me and not you - or at both of us?"

Rowen opened his mouth, but nothing came out. 

Natsuki squinted her eyes back to the ground and bit her lip. "Is Kia all she seems? Doesn't she have any downs or negatives or imperfections like the rest of the normal female race has?"

Rowen cocked his eyebrows, relieved to a point that Natsuki was only worrying about Kia's physical traits, "She does, Suki. It's just that she isn't as bold as you are and hesitates to show them. She is very weak at times... isn't that a negative?" Rowen put a hand on her shoulder and stared at her eyes.

Natsuki shrugged her shoulders, "I really don't know. But why out of everything that belonged to me, why did she have to take Sage?"

"She didn't take him-"

"Yes, she did, Rowen. She's having his kid. For the next nine months, those two are going to be together, I'm guaranteeing you that much." She looked upwards until she met Rowen's eyes, "Aren't you worried about that?"

Rowen pursed his lips and nodded, "Very worried. But I'm going to do everything in my power to keep them maintained at a friend level... like you said. But you can't yell at them. It'll only make the option more desirable for them, especially those two - you know how they like to break rules." He watched as Natsuki nodded her head. "So instead of yelling at them and saying every swear word in the book, just bring whoever aside and talk to them. That is the only way that we, as a four, are going to pull through this."

"All right."

"Even if they do go to the point to kissing in front of you, don't let it get to you. If anything, just laugh." Rowen said, clearing his own worried mind with the words he spoke. "Are you ready to go back inside, now?"

Natsuki nodded again and swallowed the lump in her throat. Smiling brightly, Rowen took Natsuki by the hand and led her back to the house. They soon got to the porch, only finding Kia lying beneath Sage on the rocking love-seat, both seeming to be sleeping. 

Glancing once at Natsuki, he erased his tension, "After you, Suki?" Rowen gestured to the sleeping pair, cocking his eyebrows in amusement.

"Please." Natsuki let a grave smile pass over her features before she kicked the chair, bringing Sage and Kia to a loud heap on the porch.

Both of them woke, finding to Rowen and Natsuki roaring with laughter. With a groan, Kia pushed herself up off of Sage and stood, "What?! Who did that?"

Natsuki raised a hand, "Thank you, thank you, but you've all been too kind," she chuckled, holding her head high as she walked back into the house, Rowen not far behind.

"What did Rowen talk into her?" Sage asked after Rowen and Natsuki were in the house. 

Kia shrugged, "How am I supposed to know?" she looked over her shoulder, staring at Sage who stood behind her. She faced forwards again, taking one step towards the door, "But I'm not going to wait to find out."

***

Authors Note: Okay, from here on in, IT GETS GOOD. This is where the drama kicks in. And for anyone whose still confused, Natsuki is NOT Mia. It just so happened that I named that character Nat-su-ki. I never really did like Mia in the series anyways... she was just annoying. Sorry to any Mia fans out there. See you Sunday!


	12. 1 + 2 = 3-some

Later that evening, only five sat in the once largely occupied house - those five were Ayame, Rowen, Kia, Sage, and Natsuki. Kia was in the laundry room, secretly trying to get the stain out of the white bed sheet that she was washing, Natsuki was sitting in the family room, watching a TV show, and Ayame was put to bed, but not to sleep.

Rowen stalked around the house, finally finding Sage in the den, reading a magazine. He slowly approached him, wanting this to start off the right way.

"Sage," Rowen started, hesitating to meet Sage's eye.

"What is it, Ro?" Sage replied bleakly, keeping his eyes in his magazine. 

"Umm... well, I want to say that... well; I've really thought about what happened today. And what I really want to know is... Sage... uh,"

"Spit it out already."

"Are we still friends?"

Sage immediately looked away from his magazine and met eyes with Rowen. "What do you mean 'are we'?" 

"Are we still friends?" Rowen replied again, this time more quicker and full of more confidence. 

Sage tried not to smile, "Of course! I mean, I hope we are."

Rowen exhaled all of the air that was in his lungs, grabbing his chest from the loss of oxygen. He rubbed his face with his other hand, bringing it down over his mouth and muffling his laugh. "You don't know how relieved I am to hear you say that, Sage."

"Well, good! So am I." Sage put his magazine on the table that lay before him and stood up. He reached his hand out and firmly grabbed onto Rowen's shaking it harshly. "Thanks for understanding, Ro."

Rowen smiled, and eventually laughed. 

But their conversation was ended short.

Kia came into the room, carrying with her an empty box of laundry bleach. "Hey, Sage. Do we have any more..." she paused to look up. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't know. I'll leave-"

"No, that's okay, Kia." Rowen ushered her in the room with a wave of his hand; "we were just clearing up a little confusion."

Kia set the box on the table in front of her while she sat down in the couch in-between Sage and Rowen. "So you guys aren't mad at each other or me anymore?"she asked hopefully.

Both of them shook their heads, "We're fine now. No more fighting between us," Sage reassured her, smiling brightly. 

Kia laughed, "Is that so!? In that case, we should lock the door and have some real fun!" 

Sage and Rowen immediately stopped laughing and gave her bewildered expressions. Almost in unison, they both replied, "Wha-what!? You don't mean-"

Kia was laughing so hard, she had to use the table in front of her to support herself. "You guys actually believed me?!" she started laughing again. "You... and you," she paused to point to Rowen and Sage, "and me... now that'll be the day!" she burst into another fit of laughter. 

Rowen and Sage started to laugh uneasily, Rowen running a hand through his hair and Sage rolling his eyes. But when he and Rowen both met eye contact, Sage could almost exactly tell what was going through Rowen's mind. A maniacal smile came across his features, identical to Rowen's. 

Sage looked down to Kia, who was still using the table for support. Playing his air, he began to laugh even louder than he was before, Rowen not far behind. Then as swift as the north wind, Sage grabbed Kia's waist and pulled her back on top of his chest, locking his hands underneath her bosom as he leaned to the side of the couch. Rowen followed after Sage, getting partially on top of Kia, while running his hands along the sides of her legs. For the most part, at the bottom was Sage, then Kia, and on top was Rowen.

Kia was speechless, "What! I wasn't serious-" she got cut off as Rowen kissed her lips and Sage kissed her neck. For the few moments that Rowen and Sage were kissing her, Kia's body temperature rose to a new level, and one of her secret desires came that much closer to becoming reality. But when they broke away, Kia was left again, speechless.

Rowen couldn't help but smile when he got a glimpse at the look of Kia's shocked face. It was like he had slapped her again, but this time with a totally different emotion. "Do you want us to keep going?" he asked, he voice suddenly low and very seductive. 

Kia blinked, "I... ah-umm..."

Sage laughed, "We know what you're thinking. We've know you for too long to not know what you want, Kia-chan," his chuckle was deep, sending an icy chill through Kia's spine as he traced his tongue along the back of Kia's neck. 

"It's really up to you, Kia," Rowen let his hands fall to the buckle of her pants. He moved his hands back down to the couch when Sage brushed his hands up Kia's shirt, going only far enough to tease her. 

Kia wished she could've lost her voice then and there, so that she wouldn't be able to say yes or no. But Kia squeezed her eyes shut, knowing her body's desires will want to kill her soul's conscience for what she was about to say, "No-"

"What in hell are you three doing?!" Natsuki stood in the doorway, glaring at them.

Rowen's eyes bulged, "Nothing!" He coughed and immediately pulled himself up off of Kia. "We were just-"

"Doing what? I have eyes you know!" Natsuki yelled, bringing herself into the room.

"We were just joking around, Suki!" Sage replied, swinging his one leg back down in front of him as he sat upright. "It was all a joke!"

"It sure as hell didn't look like a joke to me!"

"Well, it was. We just wanted to see Kia's reaction to it." Rowen paused, quickly moving his hand over his chest, "I swear to the gods that it was joke."

Kia looked crushed. But going along with Sage and Rowen, she hunched her shoulders and heaved a sigh, "Yeah, it was all one... big... _weird_ joke."

At that, Sage turned his head to look at her, smiling brightly when he caught the expression on Kia's face, "We won't do it again, Natsuki," he started, glancing back to his wife in the doorway. "We promise."

"Who's _we_?" Kia asked.

Rowen and Sage both laughed out-loud. "You seriously thought that we were going to do that to you?" Rowen asked, looking incredulously at Kia. When she didn't respond, he flicked his eyes back to Sage and started laughing again. 

"It had better be only a joke," Natsuki started, crossing her arms. "Anyways, what do you guys want for dinner? I'm going to call-"

"I don't care as long as you get me French fries."

Rowen finished the order, "And add some ice cream to that list. Vanilla ice cream."

Natsuki cocked her head to the side, "Vanilla ice cream and French fries? How about vegetables or fruit in your diet?" 

"French fries are made out of potatoes... isn't that a veggie?" Sage tried, desperately trying not to laugh.

"And ice cream has eggs in it-"

Natsuki cut Rowen off, laughing, "Eggs aren't fruit!" 

"Then get strawberry or peach ice cream. I don't really care as long as it's ice cream."

Sage and Rowen laughed softly when Natsuki finally leaved the room, giving up all hope with a long sigh. "All right, fries and strawberry ice cream it is then."

"Where are you going to pick it up?" Rowen called.

Natsuki stopped in the door, "We don't have those things here?" she stopped, watching Rowen shake his head. "Well... then should I go to the store?"

Sage nodded, "I can't eat dinner without my fries!"

"Yeah, there is a twenty in my wallet if you need money. Just go to the nearest fast food place, I'm sure they have fries and ice cream," Rowen assured her, waving her off with a movement of his hand. 

Natsuki looked unsure about all of this, "I don't know. I don't like driving at night by myself."

"Then bring Ayame with you. She's not asleep, I'll tell you that." Sage waited for a reply, but nothing came. "Just go. We'll all be here when you get back. We're hungry and you are going to save us from our starvation... now go!" 

Natsuki chuckled, "Fine, fine. But I better get something in return." She left the room, with or without the reply from Sage and Rowen.

Kia unbelievably looked to Sage and Rowen, who were both laughing. "Just like that, she's gone? No bitch slaps or threats for me?"

Sage shook his head. "Guess not."

"I think I talked something into her," Rowen spoke up, and giving a sigh that stopped his laughter. He coughed softly and stood from his seat. Giving Kia a single glance of his deep aqua blue eyes, he started to walk towards the door. But instead of walking out of it, he closed the door, locked it, and turned himself so that he was facing the two who sat on the couch. "Ready?"


	13. The present

"What!? I thought you just said that it was all a joke!" Kia almost yelled, all the hairs on her arms raising like static electricity. 

Sage hushed her, "Do you want Ayame to wake up? Keep it down!"

"And keep your screams down too," Rowen stated, moving slyly back over to the couch and sitting down next to Kia. The smile that he held on his face was two inches away from laughter. He pulled himself on top of her again, Sage taking her by the waist and pulling her back on top of him again- all in the same position as they were before.

"What do you _think_ we were going to say in front of Natsuki? That, yes, we were intending it to be like that but you interrupted it?" Sage rasped, moving her hair to the side so he could kiss her neck. 

"But... but-but-"

Rowen moved his hands to her waist, swiftly working through the buckle of her pants. He pulled them down so that they rested low on her hips, and then he turned his vision back up to her face as he kissed her. 

Kia let out a small cry of surprise mixed with pleasure as Sage slipped his hands under her arms and under her shirt, pushing it up to her collarbone. He feathered his fingertips over the outline of her bra, where fabric met skin, and moved his mouth up to her ear. Tracing his tongue along her earlobe, he whispered simple words of bliss. 

Rowen, on the other hand, was too close to bursting out in laughter. If he ever made eye contact with Sage, he was absolutely sure that both of them would break out into uncontrollable laughter. And he didn't even want to think if his hand or mouth met Sage's. So he tried to focus on something else - the something else being the way he kissed Kia. Every time he pulled away and went back to kiss her, it was in a different way. Like where he moved his tongue or where on the mouth his kiss landed, heck, even if he bit her or not.

Kia was in way over her head. Her nerves were locked in overload. She couldn't believe what all of this turned out to be like. She wouldn't take in that she, her husband, and his best friend would end up in bed _all_ together. But when she pinched herself in the leg, she realized that, yes, everything was real. The sensation, the desire, the will - all of it was real. 

Rowen, not realizing it, slithered his hands down to her jeans and slid them off to her knees. He was so worked into the kiss that he was giving Kia, that his mind lost control of his body and his temptation rose to complete power. Slipping his mouth away from Kia's, he quickly traced his lips down her neck, down the front of her body, and down to her stomach. His mind didn't notice the fact that the way Kia breathed - the way her stomach was moving up and down so fast - that anyone looking upon her knew that she was nervous. But Kia's short cry woke Rowen out of his blindness made by temptation.

He stopped what he was doing and looked up. Kia had her head tilted to the side, leaning away from Sage as he lay beneath her, smothering her neck with kisses. His hands were around her, one pulling at her bra strap, and the other lightly placed on the edge of her hip.

Kia opened her eyes, confused for a moment on why Rowen had stopped. She stared down at him, her eyes filled with uncertainty and something close to worry. 

Rowen quickly shot his eyes away, bringing them to rest on her openly bare stomach. _What am I doing? _he thought. With a certain amount of acquired speed, Rowen slipped Kia's pants back on and pulled Sage's hands away from her, pulling Kia's shirt back down over her exposed body.

"What? What's wrong, Rowen?" Kia asked, even know she thought that she knew the answer.

"This is supposed to be a joke. But it already went too far," he replied, sighing in something of concern.

"But you said before that-"

"Forgot about what I said, okay?"

Kia sat up, and turned so that she could look at Sage, "Is it?"

Sage shrugged.

"But..., no! No, no, no!" 

"We aren't really going through with it, Kia. I mean, put yourself in my place." Sage waited for Kia to show signs that she was listening. When that was approved, he continued, "Do you seriously think that I really want to _see_ Rowen like that?" Sage replied.

Kia started to laugh. "But he has a nice body!" She playfully fell onto Rowen's shoulder, "Don't you think?" Kia chuckled as Rowen pushed her off of him, rolling his eyes. 

Sage laughed hysterically, "You are really serious, aren't you?"

Kia made a huge pouty face and nodded. "We could turn off all the lights and make Ayame and Natsuki go away." 

"Like how can we make Ayame and Natsuki go away?" Rowen asked, amused by what Kia was coming up with.

"Well, you guys sure had an easy time getting Natsuki to leave the room! Why would it be any harder for Ayame to leave? She's almost twenty years younger!" Kia paused, showing her thinking expression. "Or! Or we could call in sick tomorrow and go to the hospital but go elsewhere! We could eat some of those fries and pretend we all have French fry disease!"

Rowen laughed, "French fry disease?! What the heck?"

"Or food poisoning would work," Sage commented. "But I think you have a plan there, my dear Kia. Rowen? What do you think?"

He shrugged. 

Kia was getting way to hyper over the fact that this might actually work. Things came to her mind and left them just as quick and her voice box was as every bit confused as Rowen and Sage. "And, and, we could buy some of that juice... that, that stuff made with grapes."

"Wine?"

"Yes! Yes, wine, wine is good, thank you, Sage."

Kia kept mumbling on, but Rowen and Sage weren't noticing it, for they were laughing too hard.

"You know what, Kia?" Sage put one hand on her leg in attempts to get her from stop thinking out-loud. 

"And-huh? What?" Kia stopped, looking directly to Sage. "You're going to tell me that it wouldn't work out, right? You and Rowen don't want to do this. I already know that."

"No, no it's not that. It's just-"

"Rowen? Sage! Open this door right now!" Natsuki's muffled yell was heard as she pounded on the door.

"Shit!" Sage violently pushed Kia to the side and eyed Rowen, flicking his eyes towards the door.

Just as Rowen got what he was trying to say, Sage opened the door and Natsuki came flying into the room, in her arms a couple of brown bags. She stopped in her tracks as her eyes lighted on Rowen and Kia, both on the floor. Rowen had pushed Kia to the floor, and now he was sitting on top of her lap.

"Whoa, Rowen, you should really do that elsewhere."

Rowen faked a smile to Natsuki, then he turned his head down to Kia and made sure that Natsuki couldn't see him, "_Button your pants_!" he rasped, his teeth clenched.

"I got your fries and ice cream. They didn't have vanilla or strawberry, so I got chocolate," Natsuki responded, throwing the bags on the coffee table in front of them. "I'm sure you guys behaved when I was gone..."

"Of course we did! Do you think I could really get past Rowen now?" Sage asked Natsuki, pointing to Rowen and Kia as they still sat on the floor.

Natsuki let out a short silent sigh, "There's more than meets the eye. But you three enjoy yourselves, I know exactly what you were trying to do before and what you three were doing while I was gone." She started to leave the room, but hesitated at the door, waiting for one of them to respond.

"What? Natsuki, we were not doing what you think we were doing." Rowen tried, staring at her back that was facing them.

"I notice a lot of things, Rowen. But it seems like all of you are doing fine. I hope you don't mind, Sage, but I'm going to leave. I'm going to leave and never come back."

"What?! Natsuki!" Sage yelled. "You can't just leave! Where will you go?!"

"Sage, I've done so much thinking today. You are right, I don't want to fight with you anymore, and I don't want you to fight with me anymore. I'm going to live my life like I know how. And I do _not_ know how to live this life anymore. How can I get you to stop wanting Kia? I can't," Natsuki paused there, tilting her head in confusion, and looking past Sage to Kia. She sat next to Rowen, watching her with something looking like worry. "Sage, live your life like the way you want to live it. I already fucking know you don't want to be with me anymore. You would just use me to get to Kia again."

"Natsuki, it's nothing like that-"

"Sure as hell it isn't! Your lying through your fucking teeth, Sage! I think life is too fast for you. The one thing that could have actually helped you has come back and kicked you in the head. Wake up, Sage. I'm not going to be your wife anymore," Natsuki stopped to reach into her purse. She pulled out some papers and pen. "Here. These are the divorce papers. You want them? Of course you do," she answered her own question.

Sage was completely speechless. In the five minutes it took for Natsuki to go through all the papers, signing them, Sage didn't say even one word. 

"Sage... it's been nice knowing you, but I deserve something better than all of this; I deserve something better than _you_. I hope that _stupid bitch _is worth it all. She is the only one I've ever heard of who is pregnant, yet she fucks with guys anyways." Natsuki looked to Kia again, "I'll give you that much credit, Kia."

"Yeah...well, good riddance. I'll be so much happier with my baby when you're gone."

Natsuki narrowed her glare on Kia. "The baby? Oh, I almost forgot about _my_ baby." She gripped the side of her purse, "I have a present for it." 

Kia didn't hear anything from that point on. Her ears rang a loud ripping sound and a muffled thud. Her eyes even seemed refusing to blink. Her heart was beating in her ears, a nice slow rhythmic beat, caught in that same second of time. No screams, no pain, nothing came to her as the blackness ruled.


	14. Kia's last breath

Authors Note: Hey, Demyn here. Glad you could join me! Anyways, I've decided to update this chapter because... well, because I feel nice today. Besides, I think its a little mean to be leaving you hanging from where the last chapter ended, ne? Have fun - oh, and a warning for people who don't like gory, cause this chapter is filled with it. 

Kia awoke with a long torture filled scream. Her eyes shot open, and she screamed in complete agony as she grabbed her side. She felt a warm liquid, and as she screamed, the liquid on her hand only got thicker and warmer. 

Someone grabbed her hand away from the overwhelming pain, and yelled at her, although Kia couldn't understand what the person was saying as her pain consumed even her hearing. 

Her voice was out of control, trying to scream until the pain went away, screaming until her throat couldn't bear the burn any longer. She knew that she was screaming, but she couldn't stop it - even when the person next to her put their hands over her mouth.

Kia screamed again, arching her back and squeezing her eyes as tears poured out of them. She could feel the area around her body growing wet, each ear-piercing cry making the pool of water she thought she was in thicker and more dense. She felt liquid rise through her throat, each scream filling up her lungs until she had to stop to cough up the crimson liquid that kept her alive. It gushed into her mouth, overloading her taste buds with the taste of blood. She continued to cough until her lungs begged for a break, her throat and stomach almost vomiting her own scarlet blood. Her cheeks were soon stained with it, streaks of crimson flowing down the sides of her pale face, paler now with pain.

Rowen and Sage desperately tried to help her, but they both just ended up deathly confused and too worried to even try doing anything more for Kia. They cried even harder as more and more of Kia's life giving fluid flowed out of her body, sending her into shrieks of pain. They had left her where she had fallen, massive quantities of blankets and sheets meekly covering her wound as she lay on the couch.

Kia cried out again in distress, attempting to grab her side to ease the tormenting nerves that lurked there. She tried to sit up, but some outside force pushed her back down and commanded her to stay down. Kia didn't care anymore. All she knew was the extreme pain in her right side that had her body in a strangle hold. Coughing hard, her hand felt more warm blood spill out of her side, and her mouth was soon filled with that familiar taste that had been there since she woke up.

Rowen didn't know what to do. He and Sage had already tried to staunch the blood flow from her death-threateningly deep wound by stuffing sheets in it, but all it seemed to do was cause Kia more pain, neither he nor Sage wanted to put her in any more agony that she was already in. Sage had called the emergency doctor ten minutes ago, but there was still no sign of him.

"Dammit, Sage! What are we gonna do?! Kia is dying!" Rowen yelled, raising his voice over the screams of Kia. 

"Gods, Rowen, I really don't know! The wound looks deep and every breath that she's taking is only making it worse! I can't make her stop breathing!" Sage cried in response, hot tears falling down his ivory colored cheeks.

Rowen began to pace back and forth across the room, burying his face in his hands as he cried, cursing Natsuki and cursing the doctor who still wasn't here. Yet when Kia stopped screaming, he hesitated to look over to her, almost afraid of what he might see.

But Kia had her eyes open, staring at Sage sitting by her side, numbly watching her. "Kia?" he whispered harshly, "Can you hear me?"

"Sage? What happened?" Kia whispered in a hoarse voice. She coughed again, just enough blood to spill onto her lips, making them a glossy red.

"Kia? Calm down, don't move, okay? We're trying to help you the best we can, just don't leave us yet," Sage responded, swallowing the lump of tension in his throat as he stroked Kia's blood soaked hand.

She couldn't take the stare of confusion off Sage's face. She didn't know what had happened to her. The last thing she remembered seeing was the look of satisfaction on Natsuki's face before everything went black. Now, she was laying on her back, an overpowering taste of blood in her mouth and her body soaked in a thin liquid. The nerves on her right side where screaming out in pain, wishing and begging to be cut from their lifeline and sent to the hands of death. Yet all of this was happening to her and she didn't know why.

"Sage," Kia's eyes filled quickly with fear, "Sage, please... please help-" she stopped to scream. More metallic tasting liquid came into her mouth as lukewarm liquid spurted out of her side. She hated it. She hated the taste of her own blood and reviled the feeling in her right side. It was killing her. 

"Shit! Rowen, what are we doing!? It can't end like this, it can't!" Sage grabbed one of the sheets laying on the floor and pressed it against Kia's wound, but he quickly ceased applying his pressure as Kia let out a long wail of agony, arching her back against the couch and tilting her head towards the ceiling.

As if on cue, the doctor suddenly rushed into the room, with him a particularly small black bag. Rowen eyed him for a second, "What the hell took you so damn long?!" 

The doctor turned his eyes towards Kia, swearing softly. Not paying any attention to Rowen, he swiftly walked over to Sage's side and sat down, setting his bag on the floor in front of him. He took over the sheet that Sage held and shoved it in deep into Kia's injury. She hollered to the heavens, her eyes rolling back into her head from the excruciating pain. She violently gripped the sides of the couch with her hands, curving her body into an 'S' shape, and thrashing to lessen the pain, but the doctor just pressed his hand firmly on her chest, holding her down.

"What are you doing!? You're making it worse!" Sage cried.

"Do you want her to live or not?!" he shouted back, beads of sweat already forming on his brow. "If you want to help, get out of this room and don't ever come back until I okay it!"

Sage didn't move.

The doctor let out a quick sigh, struggling to keep Kia down. He said, "Help me hold her down."

Sage complied almost immediately, standing up and pressing his hands firmly on Kia's lower stomach to keep her restrained. 

"How long has she been bleeding like this?" the doctor asked, reaching into his black bag and pulling out an interesting looking instrument.

"Since about five minutes ago, when we decided to pull the knife out," Sage replied softly, jerking when Kia thrashed against the pressure, still screaming.

"The _knife_?" Dr. Iha asked, fear blazing in his eyes. 

Sage grimly indicated agreement, jerking his head towards the corner. The doctor followed his eyes to the table that stood there, a particularly large dagger lay on it's side, doused in blood all the way up to the handle. 

"My god..." The doctor shoved the sheet even harder into her; her voice was hoarse with screaming. She still tried to move against Sage, using all of her remaining energy to get away from the pain that was so determined to kill her. Eventually Sage had to call Rowen over to help, Kia was becoming too much for his own strength.

"Shit, we need to move this sheet and fast. Make sure that you hold her down because if this doesn't make her pass out from pain, then I don't know what will," the doctor warned the two men, hoping they would be cautious. "On the count of three, I'm gonna rip off this sheet. One... two... three!" He violently tore away the sheet that covered Kia's deep wound, but for the first time, she didn't scream. All she did was thrust her head towards the ceiling, eyes as wide as they could be.

Yet the doctor kept going, working at her side with an extraordinary fast pace, ripping threads and pieces of bandages that he kept hidden in his bag. Kia just lay there, lifeless and unable to move of her own will.

Sage looked down at Kia, feeling no movement at all. Angst struck him like lightning, "Is... is she breathing?"

The doctor glanced up from his work and quickly moved a hand to her neck and felt her pulse. 

Nothing.

The doctor cursed loudly and dropped everything in his hands. He moved both his hands over Kia's chest and began to practice CPR. Kia's body twitched with every pump on her chest the doctor gave, her eyes keeping the same vacant look as she stared at the ceiling. Almost hesitating, the doctor put his lips over Kia's and tried to give her air. But nothing could pass through her blood-coated throat, no matter how much it wanted to. 

After about the seventh time that the doctor tried to blow air into her mouth, any life within Kia died. Her face was extraordinarily pale, making all the blood on her cheeks and neck look darker that it really was. Her usually clear hazel eyes were now blood-shot, the green and brown overwhelmed with the intense red.

After about the eighth time, there was still no sign of faked death leaving Kia's body. Rowen groaned loudly, attempting to hide his crying. He turned to face the wall and punched it hard, so hard that slivers of the wooden wall split through the soft ivory skin of his knuckles, causing him to wail and grab his hand. Grimacing, Rowen angrily left the room, kicking the door open on his way out. He met the wall across from the door and pressed his forehead against it, scorching tears burning their way down his cheeks.

Sage fearfully turned his gaze towards Kia again, wishing and hoping for anything that would be able to bring Kia back to life. 

***

Rowen twisted around so that his body could use the wall for support. He slid down so that he was sitting on the floor, his back painfully pressed against the wall, he buried his face in his arms and cried. 

"Daddy?" Ayame slowly walked into the hallway, carrying with her a raggedy pink stuffed dog that the hospital had given her when she was born. "Daddy, what's wrong?"

Shaking his head in his arms, his reply came out muffled, "Nothing, Ayame." 

"Then why are you crying?" Ayame held her stuffed dog up to her face, letting her eyes get watery. Seeing her dad cry made her feel bad. "Did I do anything?"

"No, Ayame," Rowen paused to glance up and swallow the heavy lump in his throat. "You didn't do anything."

She sat down next to Rowen and dropped her dog on the floor. Noticing the blood on his hand, Ayame shrieked, "You're bleeding, Daddy!"

He slowly looked at his hand, "I know."

"Where's mommy? She can help you!" Ayame stood up abruptly, moving towards the door that Rowen had so recently come through. But before she could grab the doorknob, Rowen grabbed the collar of Ayame's sleepwear and pulled her back down to him. She screamed with fright and surprise.

"Do _not ever_ go in there, Aya. Do you hear me?" Rowen rasped harshly, almost choking his daughter as he gripped her neckline.

"I... I..." Ayame couldn't say anything more before tears rushed to her eyes and her throat closed with her emotions. 

Sighing with anger at himself, Rowen pulled Ayame into his chest and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, Ayame. I'm sorry..." He continued to whisper comforting words until Ayame fell asleep in his arms. 


	15. The guilty one

"KIA! Kia, please DON'T leave!" Sage cried, shaking her violently as hot tears streamed down his face. His anxiety and fear rose to conquer his body and he soon pushed the doctor over, taking control on giving Kia CPR. 

The doctor knew what he had to do. "Just push on her chest with the same beat as your own heart. Never lose that rhythm." The doctor hung over his shoulder, directing Sage through it and watching Kia warily. 

Sage tried desperately to concentrate on keeping the rhythm and pumping Kia's chest with the beat of his own heart, which wasn't anywhere near normal beating level. He kept going, losing track of the physical as he stared at Kia's eyes. 

They were clear now, the blood drained out of them, as if her body needed that blood to fuel itself; but it wasn't enough to bring her back to life. 

While Sage was busy trying to keep the rhythm regular, the doctor grabbed one of Kia's wrists and searched for a pulse. He hesitated to speak, "... Sage." Even though he didn't reply, the doctor went on, "Sage, it's been almost five minutes. She doesn't have a pulse."

Sage squeezed his eyes shut, a single solitary tear rolling down his face. But he still kept going, finally taking a single deep breath and pressing his lips to hers, forcing precious air into her mouth. 

With one, loud, hard cough, Kia came back into awareness, dark liquid spilling out of her mouth and her eyes closing tight. She curved her body and wailed long and deeply. 

Sage almost started crying with happiness, "Kia!" But before he could do anything more, the doctor shoved him aside and quickly went to work on her exposed and wounded side. She kept her eyes shut as she cried in pain, tiredly moving her body in response to the excruciating sting located in her right side. But the doctor just kept going, tearing shreds of material and white gauze bandages from his black bag and applying them to Kia's wound.

After about five minutes, the doctor sat back, sighing and rubbing his forehead with his sleeve, "I think I'm done."

"What do you mean you _think _you're done?" Sage asked incredulously.

"I'm done with what I can do. The wound must heal itself from here on," he replied, packing his bag.

"You mean, she's gonna be alright?"

"It's one of the deepest cuts that I've ever seen. But with much rest and a lot of liquids, she should heal in time. She's lost too much blood as it is, so make absolutely sure that she gets her liquids. She has a punctured lung and it needs to heal before she attempts to do anything that requires much breathing." Dr. Iha stopped to look at Sage, "You got that?" 

He nodded quickly.

The doctor sighed as he looked at the red blood bath that Kia was lying in. "I really don't know how you are going to clean this up."

"We'll take care of it. Can you go out in the hall and see if her husba-" Sage hesitated, "... my friend is all right?" Sage asked, his tone weaker than normal.

"Sure, then I think I'll leave. Please call my office when she gets better suited to consciousness. I want to check up on her in a week. Okay?"

"Okay. Thank you so much," Sage waved as he walked out of the room. Then with a sigh, he turned back to Kia.

***

The doctor walked out of the room and immediately noticed Rowen on the ground, with a small black-haired girl asleep in his arms. He smiled when he noticed that Rowen was also sleeping. Deciding to leave them alone, he walked out of the hall and outside, to drive away in his car.

The glare of the car's headlights woke Rowen up. He startled himself, and seeing Ayame in his arms he tried to stand up without waking her, which he accomplished successfully. He went over to the family room and set her down on the couch - with a soft smile. Just as he was about to turn back to head to the room where Kia had fallen, Sage met up with him in the hallway, drenched in blood up to his elbows.

"Is... she all right?" Rowen asked, quickly and gravely, his eyes wide with something close to fear as he stared at Sage's arms.

Sage nodded his head firmly, "Yeah, she's going to be okay. I can't thank that doctor enough."

Rowen went to sit back down on a chair in the family room. "I can't believe this."

Sage sighed and leaned back against the wall he was standing near. With a tone close to shock, he replied, "We are so damn lucky."

"What do you mean _we_? It's Kia that has cheated death too many times. And I have no idea how we are going to get that room cleaned up."

Sage shifted uncomfortably, "Just don't worry about that right now. All I want to know is that Kia is alive."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, it's just that... well, I still can't believe that all of that just happened." He sighed and clenched both his hands, staring at them as though he couldn't believe that he was still standing. "And to say the truth, maybe she overreacted just a little."

Sage clenched his teeth and took a deep breath. "What do you mean?" 

Rowen slightly shook his head and mumbled, "Never mind."

Sage sighed and let his gaze drifted over to the couch, and he noticed Ayame, "How's Aya?"

Rowen looked up to his daughter, "I think she'll be all right. Although I might have scared her. I told her not to go in that room after she asked where Kia was."

"Maybe she'll forget about tonight... I mean, she didn't really see anything, did she?" Sage glanced at Rowen, who shook his head. Sage sighed again, and moved over to the kitchen to clean his arms. 

Listening to the sound of running water, Rowen soon fell into a deep sleep. His body was so tired from stress, worry, and anxiety, that Rowen couldn't stop the force inside of him that sent him off into sleep.

Sage re-entered the room a few moments later, drying his arms with a towel. He was about to ask Rowen something, but after he realized that Rowen was sleeping soundly on the couch, he decided to leave him alone. His mind drifted back to Kia and he walked back down the hallway and went into the den where Kia lay.

***

Kia was still somewhat conscious, her voice groaning softly. Her shirt was pushed up to her neckline, needless to say that it was almost black in color. The white bandage tightly wrapped just under and over her bosom showed that she was in no condition to do anything. The massive heap of blood-drenched blankets lying beside her on the floor and the few eye-catching stains on the carpet clearly illustrated the scene that had not happened too long ago. 

Sage walked up to Kia's side and knelt down next to her. He took one of her hands and pressed her knuckles against his lips, kissing them softly.

Kia sighed in agony, moving her head back and forth, her eyes still shut. 

Sage then decided that he would carry Kia upstairs to her bedroom where she might be able to rest better. Being very careful as to not touch her injured side, he scooped Kia into his arms, her body curving like a wet noodle. Her hair was full of dried blood, limp and brown, as it hung off the side of one of Sage's arms. She continued to moan as Sage walked up to the stairs, her mind conscious but her physical self unaware of her surroundings. 

Sage pushed her bedroom door open with his foot and carried her over to her bed. He slowly and softly laid her on the covers, slithering his arms out from underneath her with utmost care. 

Eyeing Kia's weak body up and down, he sighed, grateful that she was still alive. Then he turned around to leave the room. Closing the door behind him, he went back to his own bedroom, too tired to do anything else. 

***

"Hey Sage!"

Sage sighed and rolled over in the mess of covers that he was resting in.

"Sage! Wake up!" Rowen walked over to his side and shook him slightly. "Kia is awake!"

Sage didn't have to hear anymore before his jolted out of his bed and ran to follow Rowen, who led him down the hall to their own bedroom.

When Sage walked into the room, he was struck by a mix of concern and happiness. Kia was sitting up in bed, Ayame lying beside her. Kia had one of her arms braced around her daughter's shoulder and Ayame had her pink stuffed dog lying on her mom's stomach. 

"Oh my- Kia!" Sage cried, running over to her side. Kia's eyes brightened when she caught Sage's eyes, the violet bright with some emotion higher than delight. "How are you feeling?"

Kia shifted in place, grimacing when her right side touched the edge of the bed, but she managed to smile, "I'll be all right, Sage." 

"Gods, I'm so happy-"

"What happened anyways?" Kia suddenly asked, her tone filled with question and uncertainty. "All I remember seeing is Natsuki, then blackness. Did I fall on something?" Kia gestured to her right side, looking at it for only a moment before she flicked her eyes to Rowen and Sage. 

Rowen sighed and ran a hand loosely through his hair. He knew what happened, but to some extent, he didn't want Kia to know. Not yet. 

Kia did not want the silence as an answer. "Ayame, can you go downstairs and look for a really big band-aid?"

Ayame smiled brightly and left the room with an, "Okay, mommy."

"Now can you tell me what happened?" Kia tried again, looking to Rowen and Sage and back again.

"Kia," Rowen started off slowly, "You're going to be fine."

"The doctor told me that you need lots of rest and fluids. You have a deep puncture in your lung and-"

"I don't need to know the obvious! Just tell me how I got like this!" Kia yelled, staring at Sage.

"To put it into simplest terms, Natsuki stabbed you." Sage blurted out, looking at the floor, the bed, the window - anywhere but into Kia's eyes. 

Kia went quiet. "Wha... how... how did she-"

"I guess that she had a knife in her purse and she threw it at you, somehow nailing you right in the side. That's the best I can explain it," Sage finished his sentence with a long sigh. "I know it seems unbelievable, but-"

"Sage, just... just stop." Rowen cut into his sentence, glancing at Kia, who sat in her bed, deathly quiet.

Kia had both arms crossed around her chest, her left hand twirling a loose piece of the bandage. Her eyes were fixed on the window that was across the room, but they were filled with reflections that neither Sage nor Rowen could fathom. 

But Kia sat motionless, only her eyes darting back and forth across the windowpane as innumerable ran through her head. 

"You're going to be fine, Kia. Natsuki is gone and I don't think that she is going to come back after what she did," Sage softly commented. 

Kia squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her fingers against them as she tried to stop the vision that kept haunting her mind. She couldn't see Natsuki stabbing her - it was a thought that refused to stick in her head. Yet here she was, sitting up in her own bed, conscious and hearing the truth from her husband and Sage. 

"Why?" Kia asked, suddenly moving her eyes away from the window and looking back and forth between Sage and Rowen.

Sage couldn't make out a single sentence, "I... ah... she..."

"Obviously she didn't like the fact that you're pregnant, Kia," Rowen replied, his tone strong and confident. In fact, the way he said it made Kia wonder if Rowen was still on her side. "but we don't know where she ran off to. So don't worry about her, okay, Kia?"

Kia's voice was trembling as she spoke, "Okay, Rowen."

In despair, Sage grabbed Kia's hand and held it tightly, as if he meant to squeeze any remaining fear from her, "Kia. You are going to be fine, all right? Nothing more is going to happen to you. I'm going to stay here and never leave." His eyes clung to Kia's with hope, wanting her approval. He smiled when Kia nodded her head. 

"Now, why don't you get some rest, Kia? Sage just said that you need lots of it." 

Kia slowly nodded her head, biting her bottom lip as she snuggled her body back into the covers. 

Ayame came prancing back into the room, with her a large band-aid. "Here's the bad-aid, mo-"

Rowen shushed her and picked her up, "Mommy is fine without it for now, Ayame. Let's go back downstairs and make some hot chocolate, okay?"

Ayame's face brightened and she dropped the band-aid from her hand. Sage slowly followed after them, closing the door behind him softly as he left the room. 


	16. Healing

Three weeks went by quickly, Kia being fed nothing but liquids as she sat in her bed, wishing for the day when she could stand up on her own and be well again. Rowen eventually returned to the photo studio where he worked as normal, Ayame sometimes being dropped off at daycare if Sage had other errands to run. Finally, exactly three weeks later on Friday, Kia was able to manage on her own.

***

Sage jolted awake from his nap late Friday afternoon when the phone rang. He ran to the kitchen to answer it. "Hello?" he asked, as he picked up the receiver.

"Hello, is Rowen there?" a light, vaguely familiar woman's voice responded.

"May I ask who's calling?"

"Oh, um, this is Diane. Diane from the photo gallery?"

Sage's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he put the receiver down on the table, "Rowen! Tele-"

Rowen rushed into the kitchen and picked up the phone before Sage had completed his sentence.

__

That's funny, Sage thought as he slowly walked back into the family room. _I didn't think Rowen had any female coworkers._ Before he could sit in his chair again, Ayame came rushing down the stairs.

"Sage! Sage, mommy needs help!" she cried, her voice high-pitched like nails being drawn across a black board.

Thinking the worst, Sage was up the stairs faster than a lightning bolt. He ran into Kia's room, almost dropping dead when he saw what Kia was doing. 

There were long strips of white bandages dyed red lying on the floor, Kia pulling them off her upper abdomen as she watched herself in the mirror she was standing in.

"Kia! What are you doing?" Sage was somewhat relieved, grateful that he didn't have to cope with a situation involving life or death.

"I think I'm better, Sage," she replied, almost unconsciously. With one painful moan, Kia stripped the last sticky bandage from her pale skin. A purplish-black indent on her side was now visible, the wound surrounded by infected yellow and red skin. It had healed somewhat, not being as deep as it was three weeks ago. But every time she breathed, the hole in her side in flexed, making Sage gag sickly. 

"Kia! Please cover that up! You're only going to get an infection!" Sage tried his best not to sound mean, equally trying to avoid looking at Kia's disgustingly exposed side.

She examined herself in the mirror, a confused look written on her face. "No. I think it's getting better," After that, her face was left utterly expressionless. 

Sage grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped it around her, "Kia, stop it. Go back to bed and get some rest, okay? I don't think you're ready to face the world just yet." 

Kia weakly pushed against his arms which were forcing her over to her bed, "Sage, _you_ stop! When I say I 'm better, then I am! And I am better!" She twisted her body around in his arms and stared at his eyes.

Sage stared back, not believing that the vacant eyes he was staring at were Kia's. Was it so long ago that those same eyes had nothing but spunk in them? Had it really been that long since those eyes looked at him with nothing but lust? Now they were empty and meaningless, having no purpose but to stare him down. 

"Aren't you listening?"

Sage blinked, coming out of his stupor. "Kia... please, sit back down. I'm gonna help you wrap up your side again, okay?" As gently as he could, he pushed her back on the bed. "Stay here, I'm going to go and look for some new bandages," he had to pull himself away from the room - leaving Kia there, as weak as she was, almost killed him. 

Running back downstairs and into the kitchen, he bumped into Rowen. 

"Hey, uh, Sage. I need to tell you something. That was the studio that just called and they want me to go down there and check out a new shipment of film. Considering how much film they are talking about, it's gonna be awhile before I get home. Do you think you can handle Kia and Ayame while I'm out?"Rowen asked, running a hand through his hair.

Sage didn't even bother to tell Rowen that Kia was actually getting closer to the recovery point, "Yeah, I'll be fine. If I have a problem, I won't hesitate to call you."

Rowen nodded with a small smile, "Great. Now, where's Ayame?" Rowen left their conversation at that, leaving the kitchen and looking for his daughter. 

Sage sighed in something close to relief. Then, remembering Kia's new condition, he ran towards the medicine cabinet that was located above the refrigerator.

"Ayame?" Rowen walked into the family room, finding his daughter playing with one of her dolls. It was wrapped in toilet paper. "Ayame, what are you doing?" Rowen asked, chuckling.

She proudly held her doll up in the air, "I'm a doctor and I'm gonna fix mommy." She paused there to wrap another strip of toilet paper around the doll's head. 

Rowen laughed, "Okay, but I've got to go to work for a couple of hours, all right? Sage will be here, so bother him if you want anything."

Ayame nodded her head, showing that she understood the situation. Rowen bent down and kissed his daughter on the cheek, said a sweet goodbye and then went off towards the front door, grabbing his coat and studio bag as he went out the front door. 

Sage stepped into the room as soon as the door closed, holding a tube of Neosporin, a bottle of pain-killers, and a roll of bandages in his arms. "Ayame, I'll be upstairs in your mommy's room if you need anything." He left the family room, heading up the stairway as fast as he could without dropping anything in his hands. 

He entered Kia's room, finding Kia lying on the bed, a painful look etched across her face, "Hey, Kia. I've got some stuff here that will help." He walked over to her bedside and set everything down on the nightstand.

Kia just continued to stare up at the ceiling, clenching her teeth and rubbing the skin that laid around her injury, seeming not conscious of Sage's appearance. With a sigh, she brought her gaze away from the ceiling and found Sage's eyes, "Do you think I'll ever get better?" 

Sage smiled without noticing it, "Of course you will. I'm going to help you get that far, okay?" He made eye contact, glad that more life had entered her clear hazel eyes. Then he grabbed the tube of Neosporin and opened it. "I'm going to put on some of this so that you won't get infected."

Kia's eyes grew wide in fear, "No! Sage, that stuff stings! You are not putting it on me!" She tried to inch away on the bed, but Sage took a strong hold of her upper arm and pulled her back to him.

"Kia, if you don't get cleaned properly, then this will be a hell of a lot worse then it is now. I hope that you don't want it to be worse than it already is." 

With a sigh, Kia lifted up the side of her t-shirt, a very pouty look on her features. 

Sage took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in his throat. All the good it did him was allow butterflies to fill his stomach and his insides to twist into knots. He closed his eyes, unable to look at Kia's wound for more than five seconds. 

"If you want me to do it, then I will," Kia replied weakly, noticing how pale his face had gone in a matter of moments. She also swallowed a lump in her throat. 

"No, I'm going to do it. You don't want this stuff actually in your gash." Sage's voice trembled slightly as he spoke. 

Kia violently shook her head, "No, Sage. Just please don't do it. I'll be fine with just a bandage, okay? Please?" She begged desperately, her eyes getting watery at just the thought of more pain in her side. "I've been in torture for who knows how long. The doctor has done enough on me already."

Giving a big uneasy sigh, Sage reluctantly twisted the cap back on the bottle. "Fine." He set the tube back on the table and picked up the roll of bandages. "How do we get this on?"

Kia sat up, Indian-style, and pulled her hair into a loose bun, then turned on the bed so that her back was facing Sage. Almost teasingly, she pulled off her shirt, revealing her smooth pale back and weakened shoulders. She had lost so much weight that it was sickening to look at her back, the way all of her spine bones stuck out and showed through her skin. When she moved her arms, you could see each muscle being used, the bones themselves looking ready to burst through that one thin layer of skin. 

From that moment on, it was almost too difficult for Sage to go on. He sat by, stunned to the point of stupor. Visions were racing through his mind, recalling the nights that he and Kia had shared so long ago. He had an overwhelming temptation to embrace her, to feel her body close to his again. It was such a painful aching that Sage had to bite his bottom lip to keep it tamed. 

As soon as he touched her she winced and stiffened, dreading the moment when the bandage would meet her injury. She gasped and squeezed her eyes shut as Sage cautiously pressed the gauze against her skin. He held it out in front of her and Kia took it, wrapping it around the front of her body. Then she handed it back to Sage, who wrapped it around her back. It went back and forth like that in silence, until there were a good six layers around her upper torso. 

Kia handed the roll back to Sage for the seventh time, and he took it and ripped it, then took a piece of tape and pressed it against the end, sticking it to the top layer of bandage.

Sounding much weaker than he cared to, Sage asked , "Is that all right now?" 

Smiling frailly, Kia nodded, "Yeah," she grabbed her shirt, "thanks, Sage."

Sage sighed, "Have we really drifted that far apart?"

"What?" Kia turned around as she slipped on her shirt, staring at Sage with uncertainty.

"I'm really sorry."

Kia darted her eyes back and forth across his face, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry about Natsuki," Sage met her eyes and stared into them.

Kia sighed and let a very small smile slip onto her lips, "Sage, don't be sorry. It wasn't your fault." She looked away to cough and then noticed Ayame standing in the doorway. She smiled as brightly as she could, "Hey, Aya. How are you doing?"

"Mommy!" Ayame ran from her spot in the doorway and jumped up on her mother's bed. "Are you all better now?" she asked, hope burning in her eyes.

Kia nodded slightly, "I'm getting there. Don't you worry, Ayame."

Sage smiled softly, "Yeah. Ayame, why don't we let your mom get some rest and we can go downstairs and have some dinner and watch a movie. What do you say?"

Ayame smiled mischievously, "Okay, let's go!" She jumped back down from the bed and tugged at Sage's pant leg, trying to pull him to the doorway. 

"Okay, okay, Aya!" Sage laughed, standing up. Making Ayame scream in delight, Sage scooped her up in his arms and swung her around in the air. Kia sat by, laughing softly and thinking to herself how Sage would handle his own child. 

"See ya later, Kia," Sage said as he carried Ayame out of the room, closing the door behind him.

***

Authors Note: Uh-huh. Sorry if I grossed anyone out... heh. Anyways only 2 more chapters... can you handle it?


	17. Just a bath?

Sage yawned deeply and he looked across the room, smiling to himself when he saw Ayame fast asleep on the couch. It was nearing 10:30 and after a quick dinner and a long movie, Ayame fell asleep in no time. Yet there was still no sign of Rowen.

Sage stood up and walked over to the television so that he could turn off the movie, but he couldn't stop himself from thinking about Kia. Letting his thoughts overcome his conscience, he went upstairs and down the hall to where Kia was. A small wave of surprise followed by humor hit him when his ears caught the sound of running water. He slipped into her bedroom, and his eyes found an empty bed. His attention turned to the bathroom door that was located deeper into the bedroom. There, he found the door slightly open, a stream of faint light pouring out into the blackness of the room. 

Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he walked in and opened the bathroom door just a little - enough for him to see what exactly was going on. 

Kia was lying face up in the bathtub, with steaming hot water running out of the faucet. The water was deep enough to cover her naked chest and hot enough for Sage to see nothing but white smoke rise up out of the tub. Kia's head was rested on a towel that she had put on the edge of the tub, and her clothes were strewn about the room. But what really caught Sage's eye was the row of ten or so candles that were lit; all of them running along the edge of the window that the tub was pressed up against.

Sage couldn't help himself - he had to go in. When he got to the point where he was standing straight above her, he started to speak, "Are you alright, Kia?"

Very slowly, Kia opened her closed eyes and stared at Sage's face. She moved her hands over to his legs and pulled on his pants, bringing him towards her. 

"Kia-" Sage's eyes widened as Kia pulled him into the tub with her. But Kia didn't say anything except with her eyes. 

Sage's skin started to shiver. Lust. Controlled and contained, but lust none the less.

Sage turned a questioning look on Kia, asking what to do next. He inhaled sharply when his skin hit the hot water, his skin feeling like as though it was on fire. But Kia didn't let him get out, moving her hands from his waist to his face, her eyes glued to his. She gently guided him on top of her, slipping her palms down to his waist again and pulling up his half-way drenched shirt. She did the same with his jeans, even though they were harder to throw out of the tub. 

Kia's expression didn't alter in the slightest. She studied his body, her eyes slowly moving up and down, across and diagonal. Her eyes drifted to a stop upon his face and her hands followed her eyes, cupping his face in her palms. 

She didn't know what she was doing, so she didn't know how to explain herself. "Sage... I-"

"Shhh..." Sage cut her off, bringing his face down to hers and kissed her. He flicked his tongue against Kia's, teasingly, then pulled away slightly to suck on her bottom lip. 

Kia let out a soft, pleased sigh, but Sage took it as pain and quickly pulled away.

"Kia, I'm sorry!" 

"Hmm-what?" 

"I don't think we should do this. What I mean is... well, you're hurt. I don't want to make it any worse."

Kia sighed and fixed her eyes on Sage's face, seeing it in a new way. She examined his light blonde hair, slightly damp with some strands stuck adorably to his forehead. His cheeks were tinted a light rose color, thoroughly bringing out the violet in his dark eyes. Kia stole a quick glance at his lips, seeming to cry out for touch and craving attention.

"Sage," she started, closing her eyes, "I'm fine. You won't hurt me, I promise. Unless you decide to leave..." she made the perfect pout to enforce her statement.

Sage chuckled softly, bringing his hands to the side of Kia's face, then tracing them down to her shoulders. Without replying, he moved in to kiss her again, long and full on the lips. He ran his hands down the sides and of her body, being extra careful not to touch her right side. Sage eventually moved his mouth down to her neck, tracing up and down her skin with his lips and tongue. He moved so softly and so slowly that Kia thought she would go insane. He took a small break and pressed his nose against her throat as she arched her back, sighing his name and letting her eyes drift shut.

***

"Sage?" Rowen closed the front door softly behind him. "Sage?" He walked into the family room, frowning when he saw that Ayame was left asleep and unattended on the couch. 

__

Why did Sage leave Ayame down here? Rowen thought as he gently picked her up and proceeded to carry her through the kitchen to the stairs. He sighed to himself when he caught sight of the time. Eleven.

__

Sage wouldn't go to bed without putting Ayame to bed. Unless he is helping Kia with something... Rowen wouldn't let himself think of what they could be doing.

Shifting Ayame's weight, he left the kitchen and headed up the stairs. As soon as his dark blue eyes got adjusted to the darkness, he made his way down the hallway to Ayame's room. He gently set her down on the bed and stared at her admiringly. He whispered a goodnight and kissed his daughter on the cheek before he left the room. 

He made his way through the hallway, passing Sage's room as he always did. This time, though, something was different. Instead of the door being shut as it was normally, it stood wide open. Rowen glanced into the room and caught sight of the empty bed.

Rowen stopped dead in his tracks. _Now where in the heck is Sage? _he asked himself. Pondering, he continued to walk down the hall and ended up in the bedroom that he and Kia shared. He saw more than an empty bed in this room. The bathroom door was slightly open and a puddle of faint light was visible in the darkness of the room.

Curious, Rowen walked slowly over to the cracked door of the bathroom. As he got closer to the door, he could hear water being rippled and splashed.

__

What am I thinking? Kia would yell at me if I walked in on her while she was taking a bath, Rowen thought to himself, then turned to leave. He would of left the room to go back downstairs to find Sage if something hadn't caught his ear. It was a long woman's moan. Rowen recognized it immediately and turned on his heel, walking back to the bathroom door.

He finally reached the door and he pushed it gently with the tips of his fingers. It didn't open more than an inch or so, but it was enough for Rowen to see what was going on.

Sage was lying gently on top of Kia, smothering her neck with his kisses and tongue. What made it even worse was that they were both in the bathtub. Candles behind them were all aflame, sending off a very hazy light and making the whole situation seem even more planned.

Rowen could tell that Kia was enjoying Sage's presence by the way she arched her body into him, her eyes closed and mouth open as she sighed and breathed Sage's name. Rowen knew at that point that no one was forcing anyone and that both of them were in on the action. 

Rowen stood there, not knowing what else to do but examine the room. Kia and Sage's clothes were scattered about, giving Rowen a clue that they both came into the room at the same time. He couldn't have guessed in his wildest dreams that something like this would happen, and the more he realized that it was reality, the more his breath and vision got shorter and fuzzier.

Kia ran her tongue along her bottom lip, meeting Sage's for only an instant before he went back down to her neck again. He playfully bit her, causing her to open her eyes and laugh. Her vision was blurred with the passion that was boiling inside her. As Sage moved downward to her shoulders, she arched her head back as far as it would go. She saw a bright blue blur in the doorway, but before she could blink, it vanished into the darkness. 


	18. The last goodbye

Authors Note:: This is the last chapter!! ::sniff, sniff:: But if you made it this far with me, you definitely deserve some Sage/ Rowen/ Ryo/ Cye/ Kento points... and you're welcome to do anything with them. ::laughs evilly:: I hope you enjoyed my fanfic so far - and this last chapter is a songfic. Song by The Juliana Theory, You always say goodnight, goodnight. May I mention that its a VERY GOOD song and I think it fits this part of the story rather well... now read!!

***

Sirens began screaming in her mind and if possible, she felt her whole body go numb. Once she had calmed herself down to a panicked level, thoughts began racing through her head. _Shit! Rowen just saw us!_

"Sage, stop,"

"Mmm... why?" Sage exhaled softly, kissing her throat.

She took a deep breath and pushed Sage off of her, enough so that she could see right into his eyes. "Rowen is home," she stated, softer than normal.

"Huh? How do you know?" Sage looked at her as though he didn't believe her. He waited for some reply, but Kia remained silent. Smiling and shaking his head in disappointment, he leaned back over her to kiss her. 

Kia pulled away almost immediately, locking her teary eyes into the two above her, "He saw us..."

Sage didn't know what to say. He continued to stare at her, his eyes showing how confused and worried he was. "Wha-what?"

Kia closed her eyes and swallowed, "You heard me."

Sage heaved a long sigh and stood up, the water heavy on his boxers and almost making them slip off his perfectly formed hips. He stepped out of the tub and walked towards the bathroom cabinet, throwing a towel at Kia. "What are we going to do?" Sage's voice was so hoarse that Kia could barely hear it.

For once, she didn't have a plan or any idea what to do. All she could do was clutch the towel in her hand so hard that her hand went white with the pressure. She knew that Rowen had just barely accepted the fact that she was pregnant, but now that he had caught her with Sage, Kia didn't know how Rowen was going to react. 

Sage began wondering if Kia had even heard him, "Kia?"

"I... I don't know," she replied, almost too low for Sage to hear.

Sage squeezed his eyes shut and sighed, failing miserably in the attempt to calm his worked up nerves. "Are you absolutely positive that you saw Rowen?" he asked, weakness hitting him like a boulder to a soda can. 

Kia stood up abruptly, wincing slightly as the pain awoke in her side, but she managed to cover herself somewhat and step out of the tub. Without replying, she started to stagger towards the bedroom door, but before she could get there, Sage gripped her shoulder.

"What are you doing now?" he rasped, "You're only going to make it worse-"

"No. I need to do this." Kia whipped away from his hold, walking into the bedroom. She hunted down a clean shirt and pants, painfully slipping them on her body. The nerves around her injury were screaming in agony, feeling numb with pain whenever she took a deep breath, but she went on, finally getting dressed. When she was done, she turned to Sage, who stood in the doorway, not knowing what else to do. "Sage, please stay here. Whatever happens, don't come anywhere near us... or me." She hesitated for a moment, waiting for a reply, but he didn't even move. 

__

Do you really think that it was over when you hung up the phone and said goodnight?

And did you ever think that it would be too much?

Sighing, she walked out into the hall, passing Sage's bedroom and a few other rooms before she stopped as she came upon her daughter's room. She knew that Rowen was in there, since the door was open and some light shone from the crack, hinting that Ayame's night light was on.

Inhaling deeply to gain some confidence, she opened the bedroom door slowly. Almost immediately, she saw Rowen seated in a chair next to the bed.

__

I can never leave you without saying goodbye.

Kia thought that he wore an expression of astonishment at first, because his eyes were so wide. But just as his mouth sometimes twitched when he tried not to smile, she could see it twitching under the strain of a different emotion now. Kia couldn't be sure but she had the strong impression that his dark blue eyes were filled with unshed tears. He looked towards the doorway, pretending to scratch the side of his nose so he could wipe a finger in the corner of his eye.

Kia sighed before she spoke, "Rowen, I-"

"Are you happy?"

__

So did you think that you could take it? 

Could you make it alone tonight?

I could have never hoped for anything more.

"-I... what?"

"I said, are you happy?" Rowen stopped to noticeably swallow something in his throat. 

Kia began to shake her head, "What?! No! No-"

"Then what are you thinking, Kia?!" Rowen exploded. "Why?"

Kia took a quick breath of anxiousness, "Rowen, I'm... I'm sorry."

Rowen started to laugh, "You're _sorry_?! How can you just be sorry?! Kia, that won't change anything now!" By these last words, he was shouting, but when Ayame groaned and shifted in her bed, Rowen calmed himself. "Look at her, Kia," Rowen gestured to his daughter beside him, still asleep. "What is she going to say?"

Kia squinted her eyes, attempting to hold back tears, "I really don't know-"

__

Be my angel if you can, alright.

You always say goodnight.

"See? Don't you see my point?" Rowen paused for a moment, gently brushing his palm over Ayame's foot. "If you really think..." he stopped to sigh and lower his voice to the point where Kia almost couldn't hear him, "if you really want to be with Sage, I'm not going to stand in your way any longer."

__

So baby did you sleep an hour for me.

How I wish I was there right now.

Kia was left speechless, "No, Rowen! I... I-"

"No nothing, Kia. I forgave you once, and I'm not going to do it again. Game over." He stood up without making any sort of eye contact and stormed out of the room.

Kia felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her. She sank into the chair that Rowen had once been sitting in, one hand slipping to her throat as huge, hot tears flowed down her face. "No," she whispered to herself, "No..."

__

I wasn't going to tell you I could change things.

I'm afraid I never will know how.

But I don't think I could take it.

***

Rowen ran down the stairs, sobbing and crying as he had never done before. He reached the kitchen and threw all of his body weight onto the countertop with his hands as he leaned against it. Tears splattered against the counter top, and he finally noticed that his hands were shaking. He was so fed up and tired of all of it. There was only one way to end it.

__

Will I make it alone somehow?

So hold me in your arms before I leave you.

All be back as soon as time allows.

***

Kia took a very deep breath, causing her cut to leak blood again. That one breath re-opened the gash in her lung, and she was shocked to see the right side of her shirt slowly dyed red. Confusion and shock moving across her face, she abruptly stood up and stumbled towards the doorway, up the hallway and down the stairs. She tried calling out Rowen and Sage's names, but her voice was too hoarse and overcome with emotion, that her calls were drowned out by her moans of pain. 

She eventually made it down the stairs, forcing her feet to drag her into the kitchen where she could possibly find some more bandage wrap. She pushed open the kitchen door, using so much of her energy that she felt like fainting even though she only had opened half the door. Figuring that it was enough for her to fit through, she squeezed into the kitchen, but what she saw made her take in a breath so long and deep, her lungs felt like exploding. 

Rowen clicked a hand-held gun into place as he pointed it at Kia. 

Kia covered her mouth with both her hands as she gasped in complete shock. "Rowen..." she pleaded, her voice cracking like glass. 

__

You always say goodnight, and you always say goodnight.

Rowen's eyes were red from all the crying he had been doing, and his hand shook as he held the gun in the air, pointed in Kia's direction. "Do you want to know something, Kia?" Rowen started, whispering. 

Kia held her ground, unable to move from the shock that nailed her feet to the floor. 

"I was the one who stabbed you. Natsuki and I planned it out, we planned it _all_ out. Neither of us could take all the crap that you've been giving us. Especially me. I wanted to be sure that I was the one who stabbed you. So you want the truth? Well, there it is. Too bad Sage doesn't know about it, 'cause I really wanted him to know."

Tears started welling up in Kia's eyes, her vision deteriorating to blobs of color.

With an strange sort of smile, Rowen continued, "And you know what? I don't want to deal with this anymore, Kia." With that, Rowen put the small gun up to his forehead. "Goodbye... my love."

Kia found her voice at last and screamed, "ROWEN!"

__

Goodnight.

***

Sage, wondering why Kia was taking so long, walked into Ayame's bedroom, surprised to see nothing but Ayame fast asleep on the bed. He was about to leave when a note on Ayame's desk labeled 'Sage' caught his eye. He immediately noticed Rowen's handwriting as he picked it up, unfolding it to read what Rowen had written.

__

Dear Sage,

This will be the most difficult letter to write in my entire life. Sage, you have always been there for me and you were always my best friend - as close to a brother as I've ever had. But something has gone wrong in our lives which, until now, run side by side. Kia. She has become too much for me to understand and I don't know what to do anymore. 

But I want you to know the truth. Sage, I was the one who stabbed Kia in the side, I was the one who wanted her out of the way for awhile. That's the complete truth. Natsuki and I planned it out... and I'm sorry. 

By the time you've read this letter, I may already be gone. I'm very sorry Sage. I didn't want things to end this way, but my path has strayed too far away from yours. 

Your always friend-

Rowen Hashiba 

P.S. Please take care of Ayame for me.

Before he could rush out of the room, a quick, but very loud, bang hit his ears and echoed the sentiment throughout the house. Even Kia's ear-piercing wailing failed to reach Sage's ears from that point on. He stopped in his tracks, fell to his knees, and cried. 

__

Goodnight.

***

Authors Note: well... that's it. Please don't tell me your crying... and don't hate me... I only did it for true emotion. But if you still hate me, then I completely understand. I'm forever in debt to all the Rowen fans. -But who knows... maybe I'm not quite done with this fanfic. (that is, if I get enough requests that I ought to!) ^.^

Anyways, PLEASE TELL ME HOW YOU LIKED THE FANFIC! I need to know what you felt, what you want (if anything), and how you reacted. Just take anytime to fill out something of a review. 

Until the near future, this is Demyn signing off.


	19. Epilouge

Hey everyone!!

I need reviews! I'm sending this fanfic to a story contest and they want 25 other people's comments!!! EVEN if you didn't like it, SAY SOMETHING! I need this stuff in!!!

MUCHOS gracias for all your help!

_demyn


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